Premier League agrees new broadcast deal in China

THE Premier League announced on Thursday that it had agreed a new broadcast deal in China for the rest of the season with Tencent Sports following the termination of its previous agreement.

Viewers will have access to all the remaining 372 matches of England’s top-flight football league via Tencent’s digital platforms from Saturday.

More than half of all matches will be available for free to fans in China, with the remaining fixtures available on Tencent Sports’ membership service.

The Premier League, which restarted last weekend after a seven-week break, terminated its contract with Chinese broadcaster PPTV earlier this month after a dispute over a missed payment.

PPTV had agreed a reported $700 million 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 campaign was completed behind closed doors.

PPTV reportedly failed to make a payment due in March for coverage of the 2019/20 season.

“We are excited to have agreed this partnership with Tencent ensuring our supporters in China can enjoy following Premier League action throughout this season,” said Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.

“We and our clubs have an extremely passionate fanbase in China and are looking forward to working with the team at Tencent to engage with fans in new ways over the coming season.”