PPTV, the Suning Holdings subsidiary that broadcast the matches, said in a statement that After rounds of meetings, PPLive Sports and the Premier League had been unable to reach an agreement on the cost of broadcasting rights.
Covid-19 has brought many challenges, and it is especially notable during broadcasting rights negotiations, the statement said.
Even though Suning cast the decision as purely business, it comes at a time when Chinas relationship with the United Kingdom has deteriorated. Britain angered China in July when it banned the Chinese technology giant Huawei from the countrys high-speed mobile network, reversing an earlier decision.
That came a month after Britain stoked Beijings ire when Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to allow nearly three million people from Hong Kong to live and work in Britain if China passed a new national security law in the former British colony.
The Premier League, with its matches broadcast in more than 200 territories around the world, has grown to become Britains best-known export since it launched in 1992. Its longtime former chief executive, Richard Scudamore, was regularly invited to join government trade missions to strategically important markets.read more
English Premier League Terminates China TV Agreement Amid Dispute
