Chinese broadcaster PP sport have ben order by a UK High Court Judge to pay US$213 million to the Premier League.
The Premier League released a statement saying, :The Premier League welcomes the judgment handed down by the High Court today relating to non-payment of fees by PPLive, its former broadcast partner in China.”
The Premier League terminated their contract with PPLive in September 2020 after the broadcaster, part of the retail group Suning that also owns Serie A club Inter Milan, defaulted on payments due in March and June that year.
The deal was terminated after Premier League announced it was owed two instalments totalling US$213 million.
PPLive paid around $700 million for three years of Premier League streaming rights from the 2019-20 season, reportedly a marked increase in revenue for the league compared to their previous deal with Beijing-based Super Sports Media.
“The Premier League will robustly enforce its contractual rights when it has no other option available” The statement said.
The combined worth of the deal was originally US$767 million, 12 times the amounts the previous broadcaster was paying.
The High Court Judge ruled PP sport would not be successful in the defending the claim according to the league statement.
“ The league notes the judge’s view that PPLive had ‘no real prospect of success’ defending the claim.
“ The bar is high for a summary judgment application and this decision highlights the strength of the league’s case.”
