19 Jan 2009No bidders for Russian championship TV rights

Football Sponsors/ Sponsorship and Media

No bidders have emerged for the rights to broadcast the top flight of Russian football, it has been confirmed today (January 19th).

The rights for the 2009-10 season of the Rosgosstrakh Championship are due to be sublicensed by direct-to-home satellite company NTV-Plus.

However, director general Dmitry Samokhin has revealed that the domestic tender process has passed without a single bid being received from Russian national television companies.

As a result, the DTH platform firm is now planning to continue its dialogue with any potential partners and to explore the possibility of holding a second tender.

NTV-Plus secured the live rights for the division back in 2007 in a deal which runs until 2010, but then-president Vladimir Putin demanded they were sublicensed to ensure free-to-air coverage.

The 2008 Russian championship was won by underdogs Rubin Kazan, who managed to secure the title in October by four points despite losing their last three league games.

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