VietNamNet Bridge - Canal Plus, the French co-owner of K +, has just announced to buy some exclusive packages of the Premier League (EPL) broadcasting right for $40 million.

K + negotiates for Premier League TV rights alone

This is shocking information for Vietnamese broadcasters because just one day ago, a representative of K + confirmed that they were in the process of negotiation with the partner.

From the beginning, K + wanted to buy the exclusive packages of EPL TV rights because they have invested a lot in facilities for broadcasting the EPL in the last three years. An official of K + said that if they stop broadcasting the EPL, it is like no respect for the audience, who have purchased K + equipment and use the services of K + for 3 years.
 
According to Canal Plus, it spent $40 million to own the rights to broadcast the Premier League in Vietnam from 2013 to 2016, including the exclusive package on Sunday.
 
Canal Plus is a partner of the national TV station VTV, holding 49% stake in VSTV, the owner of K +. VTV has a 51% stake in the joint venture.
 
IMG won the bid for the EPL TV rights in Vietnam at the cost of $35 million and it wanted to sell it to Vietnamese broadcasters for $37.5 million. However, the Canal was "generous" to spend $40 million, making others surprises.
 
Mr. Cao Van Liet - CEO of K + said that Canal Plus had not informed K+ about the purchase yet.
 
The Ministry of Information and Communications has asked VTV to stand out as the representative of local broadcasters to negotiate with the IMG for the Premier League TV rights. However, when this “ally” had not finalized the plan of negotiation, Canal Plus already got the EPL TV rights. More surprisingly, VTV, which is a partner of Canal Plus in K+, said that they did not know about the Canal’s acquisition of EPL TV rights.
 
Deputy General Director of VTV--Nguyen Thanh Luong said: "Over the next two days, VTV will work with Canal Plus to learn about the situation." According to Luong, the VTV will still meet with member in the “ally” to discuss the plan to buy the EPL TV rights next week.
 
The question is whether K + will increase subscription fees and other service fees or not.

Nam Nguyen