The High Court in London ruled that Chinese broadcaster PPTV must pay the English Premier League at least $213 million following a nearly year-long rights battle.
PPTV failed to pay two installments to the league last year, which resulted in the English Premier League terminating the three-season deal worth roughly $650 million. The broadcaster attributed its missed payments to pandemic-related schedule changes.
The deal, which would have been the Premier League’s biggest overseas contract, only lasted one season. As part of the contract termination, money from the rights was passed down to the league’s 20 clubs.
Judge Peter Foster said that just because unforeseen events “may transpire … does not mean the court will rewrite the parties’ bargain and impose different terms.”
- He ordered two payments of $210.3 million and $2.673 million from PPLive Sports International, PPTV’s parent company, along with legal costs and interests.
- Judge Foster noted that PPTV did not pay outstanding legal fees owed to its lawyers last year.
Suning-Owned PPTV
Chinese conglomerate Suning purchased PPTV for $420 million in 2013. Three years later, the company purchased a minority stake in Serie A’s Inter Milan as part of a $307 million deal.
Suning reported $642 million in third-quarter net losses.
