Bloomberg: Premier League, PPTV in $650mn deal

The English Premier League, soccer’s richest, has cashed in on a boom in the sport in China by signing a three-year television contract worth more than $650 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. Bloomberg reports the deal is with digital broadcaster PPTV, a unit of Suning Holdings Co., the company that acquired a majority stake in Italian soccer team Inter Milan in June. The agreement is worth about 12 times more than the current accord for TV rights in China. It starts with the 2019-20 season, the person said. The pact is likely to be the league’s biggest overseas television contract and follows a surge in soccer spending in China, which was triggered by President Xi Jinping’s desire for the country to build a sports economy around soccer.