Portuguese public-service broadcaster RTP has said it has a “binding” agreement for rights to the Uefa Champions League that has been accepted by football’s European governing body amid criticism of the deal’s reported fee.
In a statement, CGI, the agency that oversees RTP’s board of directors, said that it had learned of “the existence of a proposal” from the broadcaster to acquire the Champions League’s rights for three seasons, from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
The CGI added that the RTP proposal was “accepted by Uefa, is binding and is therefore a legal commitment” by the company.
RTP has denied reports that the agreement is worth a total of about €18m ($22.5m), or €6m season and added that it made the “lowest offer ever” for the rights, which can be comfortably accommodated in its budget.
Portuguese newspaper Publico said that commercial broadcaster TVI had accused RTP of “disrupting the market” with its bid.
Portugal’s Minister of the Presidency, Luis Marques Guedes, has also expressed opposition to the deal. “It was this government… which gave very clear guidance to the RTP to move away from this kind of competition with other operators,” he said.
Marques Guedes said that “public money, from the standpoint of the government, should not be applied” to football broadcasts. He added: “In a company which, moreover, has financial difficulties, and in a country going through financial difficulties, the public should not provide for a public-service operator to intrude in this market.”