Bolivian league vice-president cites Sport TV Rights’ $23m offer

Bolivian league vice-president Robert Blanco has claimed that incumbent rights-holder Sport TV Rights has submitted a $23m (€21m) offer for the exclusive rights to the league from 2021 to 2024.

Blanco, who is also the vice-president of the Bolivian Football Federation, was reported in Bolivian media as saying that, in addition to the rights, Sport TV Rights has offered to pay for Video Assistant Referee production, according to Bolivian news source reduno.com.bo.

However, the league is hoping for a bid of closer to $40m for the four-year cycle.

Blanco cited the higher rights fees paid for the Ecuadorian Serie A and the Paraguayan Primera División. He added: “Why can’t our football be worth upwards of $40m?”

Paraguayan sports broadcaster Teledeportes extended its agreement for the Primera División rights in 2011 for a nine-season cycle which ends in 2020, while pay-television broadcaster GolTV acquired the rights to the top-two divisions of Ecuadorian football in a 10-season deal running between 2018 and 2027.

Reports emerged last month that Mexican agency Sports Marketing Monterrey had bid $50m for the four-year cycle, though this went unconfirmed and there remains scepticism about the validity of the bid. That figure would have been a steep increase on the $3m per season that Blanco cites as the fee paid by Sport TV Rights under its deal which expires at the end of the 2020 season.

The Bolivian Football Federation issued a tender for the rights in late September, saying that it would be open to accepting offers from domestic and international broadcasters.