The English football governing body welcomed the judgment of the High Court in London who handed down a charge of $212 million relating to non-payment of fees against Suning Holdings subsidiary PPLive, the former Chinese broadcast partner of the Premier League (EPL).
The case stems back to September 2020 when the EPL exercised the option of early cancellation of its streaming rights contract in China with PPLive’s PPTV service. Four years earlier, PPTV inked a contract to stream the Premier League in China from 2019 to 2021 in a deal valued at $700 million. However, in March 2020 PPTV is said to have withheld at £160 million instalment on the contract just as the schedule was suspended due to Covid-19.
As dispute between the two parties rumbled on, the EPL decided to cut its losses and cancel the contract. Just two week after it announced that it had cancelled its $700 million Chinese streaming video rights contract with Suning Holdings, the EPL announced a partnership with China’s leading digital sports media platform Tencent Sports.
Commenting on the High Court judgment, the EPL said it would robustly enforce its contractual rights when it has no other option available. “The League notes the judge’s view that PPLive had “no real prospect of success” defending the claim,” it added in a statement. “The bar is high for a summary judgment application and this decision highlights the strength of the League’s case.”
The League will now begin the process of recovering the fees and costs owed by PPLive.
