FTF and Télévision Tunisienne reach agreement over B4 Capital deal

The Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) has agreed terms with public-service broadcaster Télévision Tunisienne on a deal that will allow the B4 Capital agency to market its global rights for the 2015-16 season.

The agreement follows a meeting held between the two parties yesterday (Monday) and resolves a dispute that had broken out over the terms of the deal.

Earlier this month, Télévision Tunisienne objected to B4 Capital’s deal with the FTF for overseas rights to Ligue 1 Pro, the top division of club football in the country, claiming it was not consulted on the contract.

In June, B4 signed an exclusive deal to distribute the international media rights of the FTF. The deal was set to run for three seasons, from 2015-16 to 2017-18. Under the agreement, B4 was to distribute worldwide rights to the Tunisia national team’s home friendly matches, along with the Ligue 1 Pro and the Coupe de Tunisie club competitions.

However, Télévision Tunisienne, the Ligue 1 Pro’s domestic rights-holder, claimed the terms of its contract had been violated, adding that it had been informed of the agreement, but had not participated in the negotiations and did not agree on the financial terms.

It added that it remained open to negotiations over the sale of the rights and agreement has now been reached for the 2015-16 season only. The MosaiqueFM website said the FTF’s current contract with Télévision Tunisienne is due to expire at the end of 2015-16, leaving the federation free to negotiate a new deal with B4 for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.