The Vietnam Professional Football (VPF) company yesterday worked with digital TV provider AVG on reducing the term, and increasing the value, of the 20-year contract AVG closed with VFF, a proposal to which AVG said it would provide an answer within the next seven days.

VPF deputy CEO Nguyen Duc Kien said VPF sought AVG’s cooperation to settle the TV rights battle quickly. VPF demanded that the telecast deal AVG inked with VFF, in which the former is awarded 20-year exclusive rights to broadcast the country’s football leagues, be revised in a way that it can achieve two targets.

First, national TV station VTV should be designated to broadcast the most football matches, to serve the majority of public. Second, the amount of money Vietnamese football receives from TV rights should be higher than the amount agreed upon in the contract between AVG and VFF.

AVG chairman Pham Nhat Vu said he supports the two demands, and will announce the response within the next seven days.

“In case VPF and AVG fail to see eye to eye, VPF will call on VFF to hold an irregular meeting,” said Kien.

“However, personally, I hope this will not happen.

“I did not argue with Vu of AVG about his claim that AVG will set aside 100 percent of profits earned from TV rights to the development of Vietnamese sports, but I want to know how much the profit is.”

In a press release from Tuesday, Vu said AVG is willing to negotiate with VPF once the latter has fully legal validity and respects the telecast deal between AVG and VFF.

The press release also said that in the meeting with AVG, VPF guaranteed to increase the value of the telecast contract for the 2012-2014 period to VND70 billion if VPF sell the rights to VTV, so that football fans can watch the matches for free via VTV channels.

Top-tier league to be called V-League Eximbank 2012

Also on Tuesday, VPF worked with the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, to present several proposals, including finalizing the name of the country’s top-tier football league and approving the professional football regulations for the 2012 season.

For its part, the department said it would release the regulations by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, the Super League will temporarily return to its original name, V-League Eximbank 2012, while waiting for new regulations to be announced, the department said.

Source: Tuoi Tre