Hong Kong football lovers can rest easy again after new English Premier League rights owner LeTV said it had come to an agreement with Now TV to allow broadcasting of the matches in the territory.
Confusion reigned on Tuesday over how Hongkongers would be able to get their footie fix next season when LeTV chief executive for Asia-Pacific Mok Chui-tin refuted claims by Now TV that the two parties had struck a deal about broadcasting the world’s most popular football league.
This came after the Chinese internet company purchased the 2016-17 rights for a reported USD400 million. “We have not reached an agreement with any third party for a concrete plan,” Mok told the SCMP on Tuesday as the likelihood of stars such as Sergio Aguero, Eden Hazard and Harry Kane hitting screens across the 852 picked up once more yesterday.
“Le Sports and PCCW Media Ltd [the Now TV owner] jointly announce the two parties have reached an agreement in relation to cooperation on the broadcast of Premier League matches, and are actively discussing the execution details,” said LeTV’s Le Sports portal in a statement.
News about live football subscription plans for the 2016-17 season have yet to be announced, but the Mok has spoken of the mainland firm’s plans to gain a firm foothold in Hong Kong, telling the SCMP that they want to “make LeTV Hong Kong and meet the needs of Hong Kong audiences”.
Mok had earlier stated that all internet users would have access to the matches, but that people who purchased LeTV televisions and smartphones would be given priority.
