England’s Premier League cashes in on China with bumper US$700 million TV rights deal
Streaming site PPTV to pay 12 times the previous fee
The English Premier League is the latest to cash in on China’s booming soccer economy, selling its TV rights for around US$700 million, its biggest ever overseas deal, according to reports.
The league sold the rights to PPTV in a three-year deal from 2019 according to the Associated Press, which broke the story, citing an unnamed source familiar with the deal.
Streaming site PPTV is part of Suning, the retail company that recently bought Italian club Internazionale.
Neither the Premier League or PPTV would comment.
If confirmed, the deal will be a massive increase. The Premier League, the world’s richest, had sold its rights cheaply to China in the past in a bid to boost interest. The current deal with Super Sport Media Group is said to be around US$18 million to US$20 million a year.