Russian sports broadcaster Match TV, owned by Gazprom Media, has sublicensed digital rights to the Russian Premier League and Uefa’s club competitions to OTT streaming service ivi.
The duration of the deal has not been specified, but Match TV itself holds rights in Russia to the Uefa Champions League and Europe League, from 2018-19 to 2020-21, and the Russian Premier League from 2018-19 to 2021-22.
Match TV will continue to broadcast all rights on its platforms whilst ivi will exploit the rights on its general subscription service and will charge users on a pay-per-view basis.
Launched in 2010, ivi has become one of the largest general entertainment streaming services in the country. The streaming service, last month, received a $40m (€36m) investment last month from a consortium of Russian and foreign investors.
There has been a growth in digital players acquiring sports rights in Russia, with internet company Rambler acquiring English Premier League rights earlier this year and rival Yandex picking up National Hockey League rights last month.