Talks between the Turkish Football Federation and pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports have continued as the country’s governing body pushes for an amendment to the pair’s arrangement.
Amid talks to amend their five-season deal, TFF president Nihat Özdemir urged the broadcaster to uphold the terms of their agreement while fans are still locked out of Turkish Süper Lig matches.
SportBusiness understands that beIN paid an instalment of TL500m (€53.1m/$62.8m) which Özdemir said has now been distributed among the 21 Süper Lig clubs.
Sources are understood to be confident of reaching an agreement as the broadcaster is keen to maintain what it sees as a healthy relationship with the TFF.
Speaking after a meeting between the TFF and the clubs, Özdemir said: “We have completed the first three years of our contractual agreement with beIN. We are now in the fourth year. Regarding our contract, unfortunately we have not yet been able to reach an agreement. BeIN has met all payment obligations in full in recent years. But this year only a 25 percent advance payment was made.”
Since agreeing to their original five-season deal ahead of the 2017-18 season, beIN’s exclusive domestic and international rights deal for the Turkish Süper Lig has brought wrought with currency issues due to the Turkish Lira’s fluctuating value.
The two parties renegotiated their agreement last summer with terms set to run for the remainder of the contract which expires after the 2021-22 season.
BeIN withheld some payments from the TFF while the league was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, though payments resumed in late June. At the point of the payment’s freeze, beIN had already paid 75 per cent of the season’s total fees.
