PPTV wins right to live EPL matches
ALTHOUGH it remains unclear whether TrueVisions or CTH will secure a sub-licence from Qatar-based BeIN Sports for live broadcasts of English Premier League matches for the next three seasons on pay TV, PPTV digital channel, owned by tycoon Prasert Prasart
“We are unable to disclose details about the total investment for this deal but we can say it is quite a large amount. We believe that this English soccer league is very valuable for PPTV as it can help us build a bigger audience base, particularly sport fans,” Kematat Paladesh, president of Bangkok Media and Broadcasting, the operator of PPTV, told The Nation.
He said winning the broadcasting rights was very satisfying and an important milestone for the station as it continues to edge forward in a very cluttered and competitive television market.
This was also the first time a Thai free-TV broadcaster had secured the EPL rights for three consecutive years.
“Our ambition is to harness the passion of Premier League fans by offering free-to-air live matches on PPTV channel. We have demonstrated over the past year PPTV’s commitment to promoting the Premier League both on air and at local PPTV events to ensure fans are ever closer to the action,” Kematat said in an official statement released yesterday.
Under this sub-licensing contract with BeIN Sports, PPTV will telecast 26 live EPL matches a year plus hold the right to stream live programmes online and conduct related on-ground marketing activities after the current deal for the 2015-16 season with CTH comes to an end in July.
BeIN Sports is currently the official broadcast licensee of the Premier League for Thailand from the 2016-17 to 2018-19 seasons. The new season will start in August.
BeIN Media Group deputy chief executive officer Yousef al-Obaidly said his company believed the foundations were there for both parties to work together in a very fruitful way in ensuring that the English Premier League will have a fantastic free-TV destination.
In another development, The One Enterprise, operator of One digital TV channel, yesterday announced it would add more top-rated dramas, “The Bachelor Thailand” reality show and new situation comedies to its line-up starting next month in order to boost its ratings, which had improved last month. One channel was ranked at No 4 with an average rating of 0.525 point last month, up from No 5 with an average rating of 0.452 point in February.
Takonkiet Viravan, CEO of The One Enterprise, said this was a result of providing new TV dramas since last year. With the new programme line-up, the company aims to achieve its goal of an average rating of 1.0 point by the end of this year. The company targets Bt1.8 billion in revenue this year, almost double last year’s.
