The two rival bidders, Canal Plus, the incumbent rights-holder, and TVN’s N sport, are each said to have offered only about PLN360 million (€92 million) over the next three-year period, 2011-12 to 2013-14, about the same as what is paid now. The Polish league was hoping for about PLN450 million.
The Ekstraklasa, advised by the Ufa Sports agency, is now said to be seeking a financial partner willing to invest over PLN400 million for an in-house channel project. Market research from Polish company Pentagon Research suggests that an in-house channel could generate up to PLN156 million per season (PLN468million over three years), but would cost up to PLN65 million per year to produce and promote.
A final decision on the rights is expected in the coming days.