Football broadcast deal under investigation

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

A scene from Beşiktaş and Eskişehirspor match is seen in this photo.

Turkey’s Competition Board has announced that an investigation has been launched into a reported deal between the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) and Turkey’s biggest digital television platform, Digiturk, regarding the rights for broadcasting Spor Toto Super League games.

In its announcement on Dec. 14, the board said it would look into claims that the agreement between the TFF and Digiturk, which is set to expire in May 2015, had been extended for two more seasons without a tender.

Digiturk also released a written statement on Dec. 14 noting that the investigation did not include the current agreement. The TFF and Digiturk signed an extension agreement concerning broadcasting rights on May 21 to include the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 seasons, the statement said.

“Digiturk expects the Competition Board to accept the extension deal, which we are sure is in compliance with the Board’s principles and regulations,” the statement read.

Digiturk won the tender for the league’s broadcasting rights in January 2010 for a yearly net payment of $321 million. The company complained that the match-fixing investigation launched in July 2011 hurt the image of Turkish football and put its business at risk. The TFF then agreed to extend Digiturk’s deal without renewing the tender following the complaints.

The tender included the rights for broadcasting live at Super League matches without a technology limit, which means the broadcasts could be over television, mobile phones or the Internet. The company will be able to sub-license, selling some rights to other companies.