National broadcast station Vietnam Television (VTV) is going to reach an agreement with the international sports media rights company MP&Silva on the telecast rights of the 2014 World Cup matches and the deal will be signed in two weeks, according to a source close to Tuoi Tre.

Both sides have agreed on basic terms of the contract. However, the price of the deal has not been revealed.

Tien Phong newspaper quoted a VTV official as saying that the price "is much lower than US$10 million which MP&Silva once asked for."

Last year, MP&Silva offered the rights package for all sixty-four 2014 World Cup games at $10 million, but VTV then rejected it, saying the price was too expensive.

Not only did VTV refuse it but all television broadcasters in Vietnam also turned down the offer.

Vietnamese newspapers have continually reported that local football (soccer) fans may miss the event, to be held in Brazil from June to July, due to this price issue.

With the current excess of international football tournaments, the World Cup is not as important to fans as it was before, according to a sports television official.

In addition, the 2014 World Cup games are not taking place at a suitable time for Vietnamese viewers, as they would be broadcast from 3:00 am to 5:00 am.

A representative from VTV noted that MP&Silva spent $7 million buying the TV broadcast rights from FIFA to distribute them in the Southeast Asian country, famous for its craze for football.

A VTV official said his station has yet had any plan to share the World Cup broadcast rights with other local broadcasters.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!