Three-year deal for airing soccer games from 2016 season may be worth $400 million, say experts
LeTV Sports, the sports arm of China’s biggest online video company LeTV Holdings Co Ltd, has snapped up the Hong Kong rights to the English Premier League soccer games for the next three years starting 2016, as part of its efforts to bring in new technology and securing a number of exclusive television properties.
Though LeTV did not disclose the exact terms of the agreement at a news conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday, industry sources said it could be as high as $400 million-plus for the three years, more than double what the current rights holder PCCW’s Now TV paid for a similar three-year deal.
Beijing-based LeTV is aggressively expanding into the Hong Kong pay TV market, which has been dominated until recently by Now TV and i-Cable.
Cheng Yizhong, the newly appointed CEO of LeTV Sports in Hong Kong, said that LeTV will also webcast some Premier League matches in ultra high-definition quality during the 2016-17 season.
Read more at China Daily