The Turkish Football Federation (TFF), has set February 28 as the date on which the domestic broadcast partner for the upcoming cycle of its top-tier Super Lig club competition will be decided.
In an announcement made yesterday following a lengthy meeting, the TFF also confirmed that the tender (which began in mid-January) has not yet been concluded and that a dozen offers had been received so far.
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The meeting was attended by representatives of the TFF, the Turkish club’s union, three individual club presidents, and by executives from the bodies to have submitted bids.
The next cycle starts in 2022-23, with Digiturk, the local division of international pay-TV sports broadcaster BeIN, holding rights for the current three-year cycle that comes to an end at the finale of this campaign.
The first bids were opened at a meeting on February 14, with 15 different proposals having been submitted then.
The TFF finally launched the tender on January 14 – having initially planned to begin proceedings before the end of 2021 – with help from both the Turkish Clubs Association (TCA) and IMG, the international marketing agency which the governing body brought on board to provide assistance with the process in October last year.
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By GlobalDataBeIN currently holds both domestic and international rights, in a five-year, $500-million deal which began in 2017-18 and runs out at the end of the ongoing 2021-22 season.
It covers the action domestically through Digiturk – although it also sub-licenses Super Lig highlights to Turkey’s public-service broadcaster, TRT – and internationally in the 43 countries in which it operates.
The TFF and IMG (which due to its advisory role is not able to bid itself) have split the rights up into six different packages – four across linear TV, one for digital highlights rights, and one for radio coverage. The tender also covers the second-tier 1.Lig.
The next rights cycle begins with the 2022-23 season, and it has been reported that bidders can either submit offers for a three-year or five-year deal. It is assumed that firms interested in a longer contract will submit more lucrative offers.
Last year, Nihat Ozdemir, president of the TFF, said that his first preference in this tender would be to stay with BeIN, but that his body would “organize a tender that will please the clubs at the maximum level.”
He said: “I would like to continue with BeIN Sports. There is a good relationship, we have been through very troubled times. They have a very important team, an important investment.”
However, Turkey-based media group Saran has already expressed its intention to compete with BeIN.
As well as covering the Super Lig domestically and in its international markets, BeIN also sells on the rights in countries where it does not have a presence.
However, BeIN is understood to be unhappy regarding the level of digital piracy its broadcasts of both the Super Lig and other international sports leagues have endured at the hands of illegal Turkish streaming sites.
It is thought the broadcaster feels it has been fighting against this digital piracy of its assets by itself and that more assistance from the TFF and other Turkish authorities are necessary.
Last year, BeIN decided not to bid to renew its agreement in Turkey to cover European soccer’s prestigious pan-continental UEFA Champions League, partly because of the streaming sites pirating its content.
Throughout the course of the Super Lig contract, BeIN has pleaded with the TFF and top-flight clubs to help fight piracy, claiming it devalues the rights for all concerned.
Last season marked the first Süper Lig campaign to feature 20 sides, with previous editions having been contested by 18 teams before two sides were added last summer.
