TV Sports channel ESPN says its rights to screen live European football matches in Hong Kong may have been infringed by a Thai TV station and it may take legal action.
The move could affect thousands of SAR football fans who flock to bars and clubs to watch English Premiership matches.
ESPN holds exclusive rights to broadcast the Uefa Champion's League, and last month secured the right to screen the English FA Cup in Hong Kong from CSI, the competition's international rights holder.
Both events enjoy a large following among local fans and ESPN used to team up with Cable TV to screen them live in the SAR. But after a fall-out between the two companies last season, and Cable's loss of the English FA Cup rights early this year, Hong Kong football fans can no longer tune in to top action. And with a question mark hanging over whether Cable will lose the right to screen the English Premiership next season, many punters have turned to private satellite companies to pick up Thai pay-TV channels.
For $17,000, football fans can have a satellite dish and decoder installed, and with a $3,800 annual fee, the subscriber can watch all major European matches live.
A member of staff from a private satellite company in Sai Kung said business was booming since Cable lost the FA Cup rights. 'We offer four sports channels: Star Sports, ESPN [in Thailand], Super Sports and Super Sports Gold. They screen live matches from major English soccer events as well as European football. The majority of our customers are bars and expatriates. There are hundreds of subscribers in Hong Kong.'
She said the annual fee was not paid to the company but to Thai Star, a pay-TV station in Thailand.