Premier League clinches $700m China TV rights deal
The Premier League has clinched a three-year television rights deal with Chinese video streaming service PPTV estimated to be worth as much as $700m, the league’s biggest-ever overseas broadcast sale.
BBC News reports that PPTV has confirmed the deal but the Premier League have yet to comment. If confirmed the arrangement would be an order of magnitude greater than the tournament’s existing licensing arrangement in the country.
It would also dwarf the next largest overseas TV broadcast agreement, a $1bn deal with NBC spread over six seasons. The £5.14bn paid by Sky and BT to cover the next three campaigns from 2016/17 onwards remains by far the biggest of the league's TV deals.
PPTV has prioritized football investment following a decree by Chinese premier Xi Jinping to make the nation the world’s single largest sports economy by 2025, having previously partnered with Liverpool FC.
China interest in the Premier League has intensified since China Media Capital (CMC) invested £265m in City Football Group last year.