London (AFP) – The Premier League announced on Thursday it was pulling the plug on a lucrative television rights contract with Chinese broadcaster PPTV after a dispute over a missed payment.
PPTV agreed a reported $700 million (£523 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 season was completed behind closed doors.
PPTV reportedly failed to make a £160 million payment due in March for coverage of the 2019/20 season.
“The Premier League confirms that it has today terminated its agreements for Premier League coverage in China with its licensee in that territory,” the Premier League said in a statement.
The 2019/20 Premier League season was also marked by political tensions with China.
In December, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pulled a game between Arsenal and Manchester City from its programme after Gunners midfielder Mesut Ozil expressed support for mainly Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang.
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