Premier League is faced with the threat of legal proceedings for cancelling the media rights of Chinese broadcaster PP Sports. The digital streaming platform is reportedly planning to take the top-flight English professional football organisers to court over the termination of its media rights contract.
PP Sports held the Premier League streaming rights for the territory of China.
“The global epidemic has brought many challenges, which have become more prominent in rights negotiations. After many rounds of talks, PP Sports and the Premier League have not been able to agree on the value of the rights. It is a pity that we have not reached an agreement with the Premier League. Although PP Sports has prepaid the Premier League right cycle fees in accordance with the agreement, PP Sports will still terminate the agreement with the Premier League,” read a PP Sports statement.
The dispute will further hamper the Premier League presence in the territory. The Chinese State broadcaster CCTV has already put the Premier League broadcast on the lesser-seen channel due to political reasons after the British Government had banned Huawei technology used in the 5G network.
Chinese establishment was also offended as the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had granted asylum to Hongkong residents.
The Premier League has reportedly confirmed the termination of the deal on 3rd September, cutting short the UK£523 million (US$719 million) contract two years early, with British media reports suggesting that PP Sports had not paid a UK£160 million (US$209 million) installment for the recently completed 2019/20 season.