English Premier League terminates China TV broadcast contract after one season
- ‘The Premier League will not be commenting further on the matter at this stage,’ it says in a statement
- PPTV says it ‘regrets we have not been able to reach an agreement with the Premier League after many rounds of talks’
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The Premier League announced on Thursday it was pulling the plug on a lucrative television rights contract with Chinese broadcaster PPTV after a dispute over a missed payment.
PPTV agreed a reported US$700 million (HK$5.4 billion) deal for the right to broadcast all 380 Premier League matches per season from 2019 to 2022.
However, the first season of that deal was hit by the coronavirus pandemic with a three-month shutdown between March and June before the season was completed behind closed doors.
PPTV reportedly failed to make a £160 million (HK$1.6 billion) payment due in March for coverage of the 2019-20 season.
“The Premier League confirms that it has today terminated its agreements for Premier League coverage in China with its licensee in that territory,” the Premier League said in a statement.
Suning-owned livestreaming giant PPTV said in a statement: “The global epidemic has brought many challenges, which are even more prominent in copyright negotiations.
“After many rounds of talks, PP Sports and the Premier League have differences in copyright value, and we regret that we have not been able to reach an agreement with the Premier League at present.”
PP Sports said it is committed to establishing high-quality football copyright parties both inside and outside China, providing quality content services and experiences for fans.
“The strategic development direction of PP Sports will not change. The adjustment of copyright strategy is a normal adjustment based on objective facts and strategic considerations. PP Sports will still be committed to providing quality services for the majority of fan users, copyright parties and partners.”
The 2019-20 Premier League season was also marked by political tensions with China.
In December, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pulled a game between Arsenal and Manchester City from its programme after Gunners midfielder Mesut Ozil expressed support for mainly Muslim Uygurs in Xinjiang.
