Samart considers joint bid for Thai EPL rights

Thai telecommunications company Samart Corp is considering linking up with sports media and publishing company Siam Sport Syndicate to launch a bid for the television rights for English Premier League football.

Samart president Watchai Vilailuck told the Nation newspaper that Siam Sport had approached Samart about the prospect of launching a joint bid for the rights for the next cycle, from 2013-14 to 2015-16. The bidding process for the next cycle is due to be launched in the middle of this year.

Pay-television operator TrueVisions holds exclusive rights to the league in Thailand from 2010-11 to 2012-13 and intends to bid to renew its rights. TrueVisions said last month it could be open to sublicensing rights for the league to rival pay-television broadcaster GMM Grammy.

Samart and Siam Sport are both shareholders of I-Sport, a provider of digital sport content.