By Jaroslaw Adamowski
January 22 – STES, the marketing arm of the Czech football association FACR, has been negotiating the sale of broadcasting rights for Gambrinus liga. Local company Pragosport and international media rights agency MP & Silva agency are said to be the leading contenders in the race to acquire the broadcasting rights for the top tier of the Czech professional football league.
Jaroslav Vacek, former deputy president of the FACR, is Pragosport’s chief executive. International rights agency MP & Silva is based in Italy and the UK.
The current contract, inked in 2012 with local company KPS Media, is due to expire on June 30, 2014. While the deal’s value has not been disclosed by the association, it is estimated to be worth about 100 million crowns (€3.64 million) per season. Meanwhile, according to the information obtained by the Czech daily Mlada fronta DNES, the new contract could be worth as much as 123 million crowns (€4.48 million) per season, a robust increase of 23%.
Until now, Gambrinus liga matches were broadcast in the Czech Republic by the country’s public broadcaster Ceska televize. It is expected that, with the new deal, the company which secures the contract will be able to sell the broadcasting rights for high-profile Gambrinus liga matches to the highest bidding paid channels. The less prestigious matches will most likely continue to be shown by the Czech public broadcaster.
Currently, 16 Czech clubs are playing in the Gambrinus liga.
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