CVO of Setanta Sports Bacha Malazonia: "Interest in Ukrainian football is very great"

Setanta Sports CVO Bacha Malazonia spoke about the creation of a single pool, broadcast schedule and penalties for violators of agreements.

— Please tell me in which countries Setanta Sports will broadcast the UPL? Does this apply only to Ukraine or abroad as well?

- In addition to Ukraine, the rights of Setanta Sports to the Ukrainian Premier League will be distributed throughout the world. At this stage, we are already negotiating with more than 30 countries for the rights to broadcast matches.

— Your proposal has angered some clubs. Does Setanta Sports plan to negotiate with them separately?

- Our goal from the very beginning was and is the creation of a single television pool. Regardless of winning the tender, Setanta Sports strives to create a constructive format of cooperation with all interested parties and find a common language with everyone as much as possible.

— We all expect a constructive position from the UPL participants. And if not? Can you imagine your broadcasts without the home matches of Dynamo, Dnipro-1, Zorya, Rukh or Ingulets?

- As I said earlier, we look forward to constructive cooperation with both the Premier League and the clubs.

— Will you take action in case of violation of the agreement?

- As for restrictions, this is the prerogative of the leaders of the Premier League (we are talking about penalties in case of violation of agreements on a single pool and the work of the official broadcaster - ed.). If we talk about copyright, then we will act within the framework of the law.

— In recent years, there have been overlaps in time between round matches. What slots will the broadcaster offer and on what days of the week will the tours be posted?

- According to the tender agreement, the Premier League tour will last 4 days. If there are any changes in the calendar, everyone will know about it in advance. The main thing is that in the current realities, matches should be held in a calm environment and fans could see them.

— Is Setanta Sports Ready for Wartime Force Majeure? — when matches are stopped due to an alarm and, in general, when competitions are stopped in general?

— Of course, we have assessed these risks. We are ready to do everything in our power to ensure that viewers have the opportunity to watch the matches.

— Is the playoff between the UPL and the First League included in your package of rights?

— The deal only covers 240 Premier League matches, not playoff matches.

— What did your first broadcasts of European Cup matches of Ukrainian clubs show? What are the results by audience — views, the number of registrations on the platform?

- Matches of Ukrainian clubs in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League showed us that even in the current situation, the interest in Ukrainian football is very high. The results exceeded our expectations. Definitely, we appreciate this experience.

— Representatives of one of the clubs stated that you had only 85,000 spectators. Where does this number come from? How does it relate to reality?

— Setanta Sports is represented in Ukraine by two TV channels with a total coverage of 2.4 million households. In addition, on the OTT platform setantasports.com, the matches of the qualifying stages of European tournaments with the participation of Ukrainian teams were watched by a total of about 750,000 users.

— In general, summing up the experience of winning the tender, what can you say about Ukrainian football, its potential and commercial attractiveness?

— Obviously, seeing the potential, we participated in the Ukrainian Premier League tender. We believe that Ukrainian football players and Ukrainian football in general have a great future. Ukraine has always been in the leading positions in this region, and the football history of this country occupies an important place in Europe.

We remember many memorable matches and moments with the participation of Ukrainian teams and players both at the club and at the national level. Therefore, we are pleased that Setanta Sports will contribute to the development of Ukrainian club football, and we look forward to the start of this cooperation.

Andrey Piskun

P.S. Here is a list of unanswered questions:

— What accompanying product do you plan to create for live broadcasts of UPL matches? (about pre-match and post-match studios, final analytical broadcasts, special projects)

- Which of the Ukrainian productions will directly produce broadcasts for you?

- Some clubs spoke about the desire for a progressive, rather than equal, distribution of funds between pool participants. Are there any bonuses depending on the place taken?