The struggle continues to obtain the rights to broadcast the national championship. GolTV has the endorsement of Ecuafútbol to broadcast the soccer tournament and it did, although indirectly, on the first matchday; but on the other side are other operators who are waiting for a judicial ruling for a new bidding process.
The position of this group is clear: they want to acquire the rights on their own and not negotiate with GolTV, so if this company continues in the business, the operators will not progress and they will not have the soccer, with "direct harm to the clubs", according to Fernando Ferro, executive of Directv, who represents the operators.
What do the associated companies expect in the case of television rights?
We are interested in a new bidding process. There is a firm order, from a judge, that points out two things: that the contract between GolTV and the Federation has no effect and that the offer arrived after the bidding process was closed. With these grounds, we hope that the Federation respects the law and receives the offers.
A bidding process was called, but your offer was not accepted. How do you take that decision?
With 24 hours for a bidding process, that call was a mockery, from every point of view, especially legal because there were doubts raised to the Federation with the bidding rules, which are of great importance, but the response was "abide by the rules". It was the height of mockery.
The proposal is joint with other operators, but the National Telecommunications Corporation said it felt excluded. Were they not approached to be part of it?
We faced the shortage of time to create a consortium or create a legal entity to have the participation of companies. We presented as Directv, but there are letters of intent signed with Univisa, TVCable, and Sevinsky. In the case of CNT, publications requesting their participation were made, but there was no response.
However, CNT stated that they were excluded from "an exclusionary model".
On January 31, a public invitation was made to CNT to participate, as well as other actors in this market, to work on an inclusive model, and it was indicated that if we were awarded the rights, we would share the model with the state company. It was indicated that with our proposal the State saves 60 million dollars in five years, even a letter was sent to the president of the Republic, Lenín Moreno, explaining that the proposal is good for everyone, but we are still waiting to meet.
See also: Andrés Moreno, CNT manager: Management with GolTV is separate from the judicial process
How would your represented operators be affected if they don't win the bidding process?
It is clear that we are not going to negotiate with (Francisco) Casal, his requirements are irrational ($ 4.40 per user), but that will have other consequences because not negotiating with GolTV implies that the clubs would not receive their income. That is why we are looking for a new bidding process to enter with these companies, and hopefully CNT, to seek guaranteed income to support soccer.
Are the values offered by GolTV unrealistic without your participation?
They offer 650 million, but they cannot guarantee that, they should not sell smoke and promise real things. I think Casal is confusing the teams because if only CNT enters, what GolTV has is 120 million, so what expectation of income does he have without other operators.
If there is another bidding process, what will happen with the values of the rights?
They will be worth more by simple logic. GolTV already knows our offer, so if there were another bidding process, any offer would be better than the current one, but everything will be for the benefit of the clubs, with the money on the table. (D)