Football Tribe SEA Editor
After months of uncertainty, good news may finally be around the corner for Thai football fans, as the Football Association are close to securing a new TV deal for the league to take over from current broadcaster True Visions in October.
The Thai FA has been at the center of a long and protracted battle with main television broadcaster True Visions, which reached an uncomfortable ceasefire last week.
The FA rejected True Visions’ proposal to end the season within the current calendar year, meaning that the broadcaster would relinquish their position as the league’s primary partner in October; potentially leading clubs to lose out on huge revenue streams if the league failed to make its way back on the T.V screen.
However, according to this report by SiamSport, the FA is close to securing a new TV deal which will kick in from October once the current True Visions deal expires. Furthermore, certain games will likely be aired on free-to-view TV channels once the deal has been completed.
With this new development, the Thai League can now prepare to announce the revised fixture list for the season, which some speculate may be released next week. Furthermore, the league is expected to front-load the fixtures in order to get maximum value from their current deal with True Visions.
Lastly, the FA have remained undecided on the issue of allowing fans back into stadiums when the league resumes on September 12th. However, a recent friendly between Chonburi and Rayong has given fans a reason to be hopeful as a limited number of spectators were allowed into the ground. With Japan and Korea now allowing fans back in under strict social distancing guidelines, there is still a chance that Thai fans could be back on the terraces next month.
After months of uncertainty, this latest update has been welcomed with open arms by Thai League fans. When the fixture list and new broadcasters are finally announced, clubs and supporters can finally leave the off-field troubles behind and begin to focus exclusively on the game once again.