Premier League copyright shifts
The fact that the Premier League copyright is about to change ownership after many years associated with an old unit marks an important change in the television market in Vietnam. This shift raises issues about the competitiveness and operational capability of the pay TV sector in the context of increasingly expensive sports rights.
Regarding this change, commentator Quang Tung said that the biggest positive point is that Vietnamese audiences continue to watch the most attractive tournament in Europe with the best quality. In the context of sharply increasing copyright costs, domestic broadcasters have almost no initiative when negotiating with international distributors. Vietnam is a market with low average income, so the ability to absorb copyright costs is somewhat limited, especially when the Premier League is among the top value tournaments in the world. However, the development of technology brings opportunities for viewers to access services more conveniently. Commentator Quang Tung assessed this as a good condition for providers to deploy more flexible services, optimize costs and reach more viewers.
Challenges in exploitation and copyright protection
One of the big questions for the Vietnamese television market is the ability to maintain an exclusive model. In many countries such as Singapore, sharing copyrights between stations or network operators is a popular trend to reduce financial risks and expand viewership.
Talking about this model, commentator Quang Tung analyzed: "Whether copyright owners seek cooperation opportunities or hold exclusive roles depends entirely on market factors".
He also pointed out that the reality of cooperation has appeared for many years, through the provision of S-On packages for many pay TV systems. Sharing benefits between units can be maintained and expanded, because each side owns its own customer group and together spreads the tournament to help reduce the financial burden on the copyright holder. For cooperation to go effectively, the cost problem is still a key factor. Commentator Quang Tung affirmed: "Cost calculation is still the most important thing to determine whether the units have to cooperate with each other or not".
According to this commentator, to prevent international distributors from manipulating prices or creating unnecessary competition between domestic carrier, management agencies can participate in supervising major deals such as the Premier League, World Cup, EURO or the Olympics. That helps the market develop more stably, healthily and beneficial for viewers.
Another challenge for the sports TV copyright market in Vietnam is the situation of illegal viewing that has lasted for nearly a decade but has not been completely resolved. Illegal websites and platforms (illegal channels) broadcasting the Premier League are almost public, causing significant losses to copyright buyers.
From the story of the Premier League's copyright changes, the core problems of the sports TV market in Vietnam continue to arise: High costs, uneven distribution models, pressure to protect copyrights and the need to change viewer habits.
