Ihor Dedyshyn, CEO of Lviv's Rukh, spoke about the UPL-TV project.
Igor Dedyshyn"I don't like where they are trying to direct this whole story called UPL-TV. When we started discussing the UPL-TV project within the working group of clubs, we chose a certain strategy. It was for the league to create a competitive product on its own and sell it on the market. It was to be a project in several stages.
We agreed with the clubs that we would follow the following path: in the first season, we would "distribute" our product as much as possible, popularise it, and bring it to the maximum number of our fans. In other words, over the course of a year, we are building a customer base, turning those people who turned away and stopped watching UPL matches due to various circumstances back to football. Obviously, the level of interest in the championship has fallen.
There are reasons for this: there is a war in the country and everyone, so to speak, is not interested in football. But you can't blame everything on the war. The previous broadcaster inherited a lot of problems. His absolute indifference to the level of the picture has already become a pain in the neck. And last season, some matches were on OTT, some on YouTube, and some on cable. The viewer never knew where to watch what, the matches overlapped. In short, the product was torn to shreds...
That's why we wanted to start from scratch. To build a product and make it as clear as possible for all potential customers and fans. We planned to organise broadcasts on the UPL-TV YouTube channel, make them high-quality, and then fill the entire market with this product through cooperation with Ukrainian OTT platforms to teach people to use these services at least correctly this year.
We also planned to make football available on TV channels. For example, there is Suspilne and others that operate in the public domain and are willing to show the Ukrainian championship. We insisted on making the championship as accessible as possible in the 2023/24 season.
And this was exactly what Rukh's proposal was, which we set out in an open letter to all UPL clubs. And I am glad that the clubs supported the idea and agreed to go ahead with the creation of UPL-TV. The only thing is that the clubs said they were ready to finance their home broadcasts on their own.
It seems to me that what is happening now is not so much a creeping coup as a technical, creeping seizure of the UPL-TV project in the interests of one company, which unexpectedly turned out to be the MEGOGO service.
I would really not want this to happen, and that's why I'm warning both my colleagues and those who are currently in charge of this process, Zhenya Dykyi (UPL President - ed.) and the rest of them. So that later, when everything, God forbid, goes sour, you don't say that I was silent and that everything seemed to suit me. That's why I don't keep silent, I talk about what I don't like and don't like.
We, as the Rukh club, are not ready to invest in MEGOGO's private business. This is our firm position.
On Wednesday, when the League rejected XSport's offer, at a meeting attended by representatives of 13 clubs, a guy named Artem Panchenko started to play the main violin in the whole story. He told us about the unlimited possibilities of the MEGOGO service, the professional team that creates it, why UPL matches should be shown on it, and many other "lures". But the paradox was that at the end of the hour-and-a-half speech, the MEGOGO guy forgot to make at least some (not even financial) offer to the clubs.
The second meeting was held, and it was the same. The MEGOGO representative talks a lot about market expertise, about how it would be good to place matches on their service. But nothing says that MEGOGO is ready to pay for the production of these matches. That is, you clubs produce the broadcast at your own expense. And we will simply host you. You have to admit, it's hard to feel happy about such an offer. Some strange things are happening. A situation is being created in the interests of a certain circle of people.
MEGOGO has now taken the reins of the board and Artem Panchenko tells us where to go, where to run and what to do. In fact, he leads all the meetings now. Initially, at the initiative of some clubs, he was invited as a market expert, and now he has transformed into the head of UPL-TV, and Zhenya Dykyi plays along in every way.
Panchenko has already brought two representatives of Engineer Service - Korotchenko and Belinsky - to the last meeting. What's the big deal? It's very simple - Engineer Service provides technical services for filming matches, they own PTSs, and film national team and European Cup matches for MEGOGO. That's why Artem Panchenko decided that we should fall into the arms of their technical partner. Who better than MEGOGO and Engineer Service to save the Ukrainian championship?
When MEGOGO started communicating with us on the first day of our meeting, at the first meeting with the clubs, they were in favour of UPL-TV. But they set a condition - in order to show their matches on MEGOGO, the clubs must meet certain standards. These standards are met by Engineer-Service. It has the appropriate equipment. And the price of this pleasure is from eight and a half to ten thousand dollars for one match.
I said: "Guys, there is not only one Engineer-Service on the market, there are other companies that also offer similar services and meet certain standards." Why is it all about Engineer-Service now?
There are other doubts about the integrity of the project with MEGOGO. Alexander Denisov is actively involved in its lobbying. Sasha is openly pushing the idea that clubs should not create a YouTube channel "UPL-TV", but go straight to MEGOGO.
It looks strange. After all, it is known that Denisov himself owns a private business called the Football 2.0 YouTube channel. He inherited this channel, with a million subscribers, through the goodwill of the former owner of the Football channel, Rinat Akhmetov.
Today, MEGOGO provides Denisov's YouTube channel with content, and they successfully monetise it together. Therefore, both Denisov and MEGOGO know what kind of budgets are floating around on YouTube. And who else but them should know that the UPL-TV YouTube channel, which broadcasts 195 matches, highlights, studios and other content to the whole world every year, could easily earn $500-700 thousand. And this would seriously offset the cost of producing the broadcasts. But we are strongly advised not to go to YouTube. Go straight to MEGOGO.
It makes me think. I wish my doubts were taken away from me. But so far, there are more and more of them. I'll say more, this is a direct conflict of interest between Sasha Denisov's private business and UPL TV, with UPL clubs. Including FC Polissya, where he is also the manager.
"From the very beginning, Rukh stated that we needed to create a primary platform from which the UPL-TV project could start. And to distribute our product from YouTube. But this option does not suit Denisov and MEGOGO.
That's why I decided to say this publicly, so that the clubs could understand where and who is trying to get us involved.
But for now, Artem Panchenko is in charge of the process. He directs the minds and behaviour of the clubs. And he rates the level of the content he creates as something galactic. Artem, dear friend, before MEGOGO came along, football was also played in this country. No matter how much we criticise the information platform of Rinat Akhmetov's channels, the broadcasts and accompanying content produced by Futbols are nowhere near MEGOGO. We must honestly admit this. Yes, Futbols had a lot of other flaws, being essentially a division of FC Shakhtar and a tool of the club's information policy and influence, but in terms of the show, there were no questions about them.
Last week, the UPL broke free from Setanta's grip. This Wednesday, we barely repelled an attack by XSPORT. And now here comes MEGOGO. It's like they're in cahoots. They won't let us do our own thing.
Don't think I have any personal grudges against the companies. They just came to us too early. Let the concept of UPL-TV, the clubs and the working group that worked on it be implemented.
Because again, it all comes down to the fact that we are subordinating everything to one private business called MEGOGO. MEGOGO is ready to sell our international rights. Do you want us to sell your betting? Give us your content, because we have the largest number of football fans on our platform.
But I want to ask Artem Panchenko, have you received any football content for your service for free? Maybe the Italian Serie A or Spanish La Liga came to MEGOGO and said, 'Take it, our clubs will pay for everything.
"Rukh doesn't want to invest 100 or 150 thousand dollars, which we will spend on organising TV filming of our matches, in MEGOGO. We want to invest this money in a common and understandable project for all the clubs - UPL-TV.
We are now 13 clubs. If each club has to take $150,000 out of their own pockets, it's almost $2 million. It turns out that we are simply financing MEGOGO's private business with the good intention of creating UPL-TV.
You know that MEGOGO's private business also took part in the UPL tender a year ago. Like Setanta, they also made a proposal that they would do the production at their own expense and give the clubs $100,000 on top. And where are they today with this offer? They heard that Rukh was funding them, then that the clubs were... And they just stood and gave us a standing ovation. They have found investors for their business.
If last year Setanta spent money at least on production, deceived all the clubs and didn't pay them a single penny for the rights, these guys are just incredible. They decided to technically enter a project that already gives you both the rights and the finished product, and they also invest in it themselves.
Please tell me, how should I, as one of the members of UPL-TV, feel about this? It is clear that we will be categorically against such a story.
Have you seen the production of studios and programmes on MEGOGO? By the way, Artem Panchenko is a presenter there somewhere. God forbid we have such content on UPL TV. But if there are qualified people who offer their technical services and assistance, we are ready to accept them and listen to them.
If we are talking in terms of business, then there is a slightly incorrect situation that does not suit us. I have voiced it and I am talking about it out loud. Let them convince me otherwise," Dedyshyn said.
