NTV Plus set for Russian Premier League rights extension – report

Russian pay-television broadcaster NTV Plus has agreed terms on a three-year extension to its rights deal for the top division of domestic football, the Premier League, according to Kommersant.

The Russian newspaper said NTV Plus’ new deal, which will cover the 2015-16 to 2017-18 seasons of the Premier League, will be signed later this week.

The new contract is understood to run alongside similar financial terms as the existing agreement, under which NTV Plus is paying around $110m (€98.7m) for the three seasons running from 2012-13 to 2014-15.

Vasily Utkin, chief editor of NTV Plus, told Kommersant that he could not confirm or deny the deal. However, he added: “But if this is so, then great. Frankly, I did not doubt for a second that the contract would be extended.”

Zenit St Petersburg won its fourth Premier League title yesterday (Sunday) after a 1-1 draw against Ufa at its Petrovsky ground.