China Sports Media has acquired rights in the country for Asian Football Confederation events after the governing body terminated an agreement with LeSports, which is operated by Chinese internet company LeEco.
The deal will run for the remainder of the four-year cycle, from 2017 to 2020.
The exclusive deal covers the Asian Champions League, Asia’s final round of qualifying for the 2018 Fifa World Cup and the Asian Cup from 2017 to 2020.
The AFC said that it had “no alternative but to terminate its contract with LeTV, which had been signed in August 2015.” It had earlier been reported by the Reuters news agency that LeSports had fallen behind with rights-fee instalments.
LeSports said in a statement: “We have let you all down… We grew at a fast pace into a leading company of the internet and sports market, and became a model for many other sports start-ups to imitate.”