Premier League chooses Singapore as first Asia Pacific office to fight piracy
The Premier League has announced that its first international office will be in Singapore, as it aims to take on piracy in the country and across the Asia Pacific.
The office will also support broadcast partners by deploying Premier League's enforcement programme across multiple markets.
According to the fourth-top sports league in the world by revenue, the office will also support broadcast partners by deploying its enforcement programme across multiple markets and assisting licensees with activation of their rights and promotion of the competition.
The league has a loyal following in Singapore, with local broadcasters like Singtel paying more than previous rights holder StarHub for broadcast rights from 2010 to 2013, which stands at a reported $400m, triple the amount of what StarHub reportedly paid in the previous cycle. It also won the last bid in 2015 for another three seasons from 2016 to 2019.
With Singtel subscribers paying $59.90 each month, there has been a rise of illegal apps in Singapore and around APAC to watch matches live, forcing the Premier League to block these apps and commence criminal action against suppliers of illicit streaming devices.
The Coalition Against Piracy, the Premier League is a member of, together with Walt Disney, HBO, the National Basketball Association, had previously called Singapore ‘a haven for pirating copyrighted programming’.
"The Asia-Pacific region is strategically important for the Premier League and its clubs," said Paul Molnar, the director of broadcasting at the Premier League. "Singapore provides an excellent location for our first international office and we look forward to using this base to support our many broadcast partners across the region.
"Equally, it is critical that we now deploy local resource and expertise to combat the increasing threat of piracy which undermines all stakeholders in the creative industry."