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he Premier League has locked in a partnership with China’s leading digital sports media platform Tencent Sports, two weeks after terminating its contract with former broadcaster partner PPTV.

The new one-year deal will see Tencent broadcast all 372 remaining English top-flight games, with more than half of those expected to be accessible free to air (FTA) for Chinese supporters.

The deal with PPTV was due to run until the summer of 2022, however the Premier League terminated the contract after a payment due in March was not made.

The Premier League began its 2020-21 season without a Chinese broadcast partnership, meaning they would have missed out on extra broadcast revenue.

Only two weeks since the termination, Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters, announced a new deal had been struck with Tencent.

“We are excited to have agreed this partnership with Tencent ensuring our supporters in China can enjoy following Premier League action throughout this season,” Masters said.

“We and our clubs have an extremely passionate fanbase in China and are looking forward to working with the team at Tencent to engage with fans in new ways over the coming season,” he said.

Tencent Sports general manager, Ewell Zhao, said he is excited to provide Premier League coverage to China.

“The Premier League is one of the world’s most popular sports competitions and has many fans in China,” Zhao said.

“In collaboration with the Premier League, Tencent Sports hopes to leverage its platforms and technology to bring the drama of Premier League matches to fans and share with them the passion and excitement of football,” he said.