Ahead of the new Premier League season, the league confirmed that they have terminated their agreement for Premier League coverage in China with their licensee in that territory.
The deal, with PPTV, of £546 million was the biggest overseas deal the league had signed at the time. Yet, just four years after a deal was made and one season after it had been implemented, the Premier League has terminated it altogether after the company reportedly failed to pay a £160 million installment that was due in March.
The Premier League must now search for a new broadcaster to crucially cover the games in the often commercially important China.
Premier League Agreement With China Broadcasters Terminated
The Financial Impact
As previously mentioned, the Premier League must now desperately search for new broadcasters to avoid any financial impact from the termination of the previous deal. As it stands, the league will miss out on what was an expected payment of £160 million, plus the next two years of payments in what was meant to be a three season deal.
Should they fail to find a replacement soon, the Premier League could be handed unnecessary financial problems. The money from any tv rights deals gets handed straight down to the 20 Premier League clubs, so, with the £560 million deal ended, each club will likely miss out on around £28 million each.
Following the financial strain of the Coronavirus, and the banning of fans in the stadiums, Premier League clubs would have welcomed that money with open arms.
The deal, however, at the worst time possible, has fallen apart. The clubs may eventually receive a payment close to that figure once the Premier League finds another broadcaster, but, for now, they must wait in limbo.
Decision Not Political
According to the Guardian, league sources have stressed the fact that the decision is not a political one, but a financial one. The rumours of a political decision came after the English government decided to ban Huawei, a Chinese telecom company, from the British 5G networks.
With PPTV’s reported failure to pay the £120 million instalment, however, it certainly seems as though the decision to terminate the contract was a financial decision, and nothing more.
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