Vietnam Television has yet to win 2018 World Cup broadcasting rights
National broadcaster Vietnam Television (VTV) has yet to win an exclusive right to broadcast all 64 soccer matches during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, though the tournament is to begin this month.
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Nguyen Ha Nam, head of the secretary and editorial board at VTV, said on June 5 that the broadcaster is in intense negotiations with Switzerland-based Infront Sports and Media AG, official distributor of the tournament’s broadcasting rights.
The Vietnamese broadcaster will not try to purchase the broadcasting rights at all costs, he stressed, adding that VTV has asked some large telecom and communications companies for their assistance.
He noted that VTV has been advised not to buy the rights, if the price is exorbitant. Having taken their feedback into account, VTV told the Swiss distributor about its proposed price on May 29. However, the distributor has yet to make its decision.
Earlier, the foreign distributor offered the price of US$10.3 million for the rights in Vietnam. However, VTV said that was too high.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup is slated to kick off in Russia in the middle of this month. According to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), more than 200 countries and territories have already negotiated broadcast rights.
