China Terminate Contract With Premier League

[nattydredd]

I have been keeping an eye on this for a few weeks.

China has the biggest contract for the Rights to show premier league football outside of the UK. Some £160m a year.

The crux of the issue can be read here :-

Suning-owned PPTV holding back US$209m EPL China TV rights cash: report

Payment, which was due in March, believed to have been delayed due to coronavirus pandemic rather than UK-China relations.

www.scmp.com

and this morning this gets announced :-



A big drop for premier league clubs

 

[Hakkz]

Oof.

 

[nattydredd]

..also worth noting this morning :-



https://www.cityam.com/23-capital-m...ann-and-atletico-madrids-deal-for-joao-felix/

 

[absolute bobbins]

This will most likely be about Hong Kong and Chinese Communist Party's attempts to use soft power to do whatever the fuck they want. Thankfully, when you break it down the clubs will receive less than £8 million a season from the deal. It will be felt but it's not going to be that impactful.

The Premier League has three options, try and sign up another broadcast partner who operate in the region (this will be difficult if my point about HK is correct), Launch their own streaming service to China (unlikely to get past the Great Firewall if the point about HK is correct) or just shrug and work to develop other markets and leave China until a friendlier despot is installed.

 

[nattydredd]

This will most likely be about Hong Kong and Chinese Communist Party's attempts to use soft power to do whatever the fuck they want. Thankfully, when you break it down the clubs will receive less than £8 million a season from the deal. It will be felt but it's not going to be that impactful.

The Premier League has three options, try and sign up another broadcast partner who operate in the region (this will be difficult if my point about HK is correct), Launch their own streaming service to China (unlikely to get past the Great Firewall if the point about HK is correct) or just shrug and work to develop other markets and leave China until a friendlier despot is installed.

You are most probably 100% correct. The fallout over this could be quite large though. It'll be worth watching what happens in the coming days/weeks

 

[Hakkz]

China can fuck off.

 

[cliff jones]

This will most likely be about Hong Kong and Chinese Communist Party's attempts to use soft power to do whatever the fuck they want. Thankfully, when you break it down the clubs will receive less than £8 million a season from the deal. It will be felt but it's not going to be that impactful.

The Premier League has three options, try and sign up another broadcast partner who operate in the region (this will be difficult if my point about HK is correct), Launch their own streaming service to China (unlikely to get past the Great Firewall if the point about HK is correct) or just shrug and work to develop other markets and leave China until a friendlier despot is installed.

none of that would work.

it might take a few months, but another business will be allowed to pick up the rights when things cool off- assuming there are no more spats, which is far from guaranteed of course.

Fans in China will be pissed.

A secondary hit will be felt by those sponsors who depend on exposure to the Chinese market for value. AIA has broader interests but this would certainly hurt them.

 

[FibreOpticJesus]

none of that would

Fans in China will be

They will just watch it on illegal websites. The Chinese ignore patented rights and manufacture what they want. So illegal watching of prem football will not worry them

 

[hellava_tough]

China can fuck off.

True, although specifically the Chinese Communist Party can fuck off.

The people there are fine.

 

[sherbornespurs]

They need us more than we need them.........or am I confusing that with something else?

 

[nattydredd]

Looks like there's an update.

 

[cliff jones]

They will just watch it on illegal websites. The Chinese ignore patented rights and manufacture what they want. So illegal watching of prem football will not worry them

I didn’t find that very easy, but I haven’t lived there since 2016

they can open and close holes in their firewall at the drop of a hat

 

[wirE]

I have been keeping an eye on this for a few weeks.

China has the biggest contract for the Rights to show premier league football outside of the UK. Some £160m a year.

The crux of the issue can be read here :-

Suning-owned PPTV holding back US$209m EPL China TV rights cash: report

Payment, which was due in March, believed to have been delayed due to coronavirus pandemic rather than UK-China relations.

www.scmp.com

and this morning this gets announced :-



A big drop for premier league clubs

I imagine this could have an impact on other countries wanting to buy the rights to broadcast - The cost will be even higher...?

 

[whitesocks]

I wonder if the chinese owned clubs might also be affected - West Brom, Southampton and Wolves.
Maybe leicester too.

 

[ardiles]

I wonder if the chinese owned clubs might also be affected - West Brom, Southampton and Wolves.
Maybe leicester too.

Leicester’s owners are from Thailand

 

[sausage]

The Athletic had an article on this today and postulated that it could be retaliation against the Hong Kong citizenship stuff as well as the Huawei blockers.

 

[C0YS]

It could be, or it could also be COVID related refusal to make last payment. The payment was due in March so the time line is pretty spot on for that, while Hong Kong citizenship to the UK (a minor issue for China, but one they still need to give some kind of counter-reaction too) happened later. Huawei was also later

There is some wild speculation here, including by myself. It could be retaliation but this is really small time retaliation, it's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things.

 

[whitesocks]

Leicester’s owners are from Thailand

King Power would not want to upset china.
nor would AIA for that matter.