Hong Kong is the league’s largest single overseas deal in the present round of deals, with PCCW’s NowTV paying $200 million to snatch the rights from previous incumbent I-Cable Communications. How aggressive either will be remains to be seen, with NowTV making a significant loss on the present deal and I-Cable struggling financially, issuing a profits warning earlier this year.
The Premier League’s partner in China, WinTV, is also struggling and that, combined with the league’s desire to get broader coverage next time round, may mean that the league will have to settle for a drop in revenues this time round.
For the full story see the next issue of TV Sports Markets.