By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The CEO of Skweek and Fedcom Media, Oleg Petrov shared a plan to regularize the situation concerning dept to continue broadcasting games of Betclic Elite and other basketball competitions in France.
“There will be no blackout,” he reassured in an interview with Le Parisien, rejecting fears for the opposite moving forward with the deal with the top-flight division of France.
According to an earlier report, the digital platform owed two to three million euros to 21 Production, a subsidiary of the L’Equipe group.
“There are some debts to honor but we guarantee that there will be no blackout. We have already contacted partners to regularize the situation,” added Petrov, “We will pay everything in the coming weeks. Within two to three weeks, we will have repaid 50% of what we owe, and soon after, 100%. Everything will be covered until the end.”
Commenting on delays in payments related to Russian businessman Alexey Fedorychev, complications were detailed by Petrov.
“It’s not because of a cash flow problem on our part,” he said, “It’s a question of the international economic situation. Our owner, Mr. Fedorychev is a commodity trader in Ukraine and you are not unaware that the situation is quite complicated at the moment. There have been some difficulties, but we do not hide them. But I promise, all sums will be reimbursed and if we have to pay interest, we will.”
“He does it because he is a true basketball enthusiast,” he added on Fedorychev investing 30 million euros from his funds into basketball since 2022, “He loves this sport and that’s why he invests and he doesn’t intend to stop. The sums that are lacking, we will repay them.”
At the top of the 2023-24 season, Skweek was announced as the official basketball broadcaster in France until 2030.
“We are here to stay for a long time,” Petrov rejected any signs of breaching the contract, “The matches will continue to be broadcast until the end of the season.”
“This situation is only temporary. I affirm that French basketball, its clubs, and the League are not at risk. No budget will be reduced because of us. Our goal is to offer a quality product for all of French basketball,” he explained.
Aiming to continue growth in the domestic market, Skweek is looking to improve content.
“The contract with Production 21 is important,” Petrov mentioned on the deal with L’Equipe, “We are not entirely satisfied with the production quality of the matches because we want to offer the best to our subscribers and we believe that it is not the case today. We are discussing, there are questions to address. We do not want to do anything haphazardly.”