The Asian Football Confederation has agreed a four-year extension to its rights deal with Thai commercial broadcaster BBTV.
The new contract provides BBTV with the exclusive terrestrial rights to broadcast the AFC’s portfolio of events in Thailand from 2017 to 2020.
The agreement grants BBTV the broadcasting rights in Thailand across 12 of the AFC’s top competitions. These include Asian qualifying games for the 2018 Fifa World Cup, the 2019 Asian Cup, which will be hosted in the United Arab Emirates; the Futsal Club Championships and the Champions League.
AFC general secretary Dato’ Windsor John said: “This deal provides another strong affirmation of the ever-growing appeal of the AFC competitions. Last year, the AFC Cup recorded a staggering 169 per cent increase in cumulative viewers compared to the same event in 2014, while the 2015 AFC Champions League yielded a 30 per cent increase in television viewership from the previous season.
“These figures underline the huge opportunity to increase fan engagement – not only in Thailand – which is a stated ambition in the AFC’s Vision and Mission.”