A true vision of life without the EPL

Thailand’s leading cable satellite television operator is preparing for life without the world’s most popular football league. Ong-ard said there would be more sport content to replace the EPL broadcasts on weekends, when the new season starts in August.

“I know that the EPL is irreplaceable,” he admitted. Those who love watching EPL will still watch the matches [via channels of the new rights holder] but TrueVisions will try its best to secure more sport content to serve our subscribers, he said.

Complete details of what sports fans can expect will be revealed by TrueVisions next month.

Both international and local sports content will be the focus in replacing the EPL, said Ong-ard. TrueVisions have secured the rights to more Thailand Premier League (TPL) soccer matches as well as the Volleyball Thailand League. Both tournaments will be broadcast on weekend evenings. Ong-ard said TrueVisions would seek to secure the TPL rights for three more years after they expire this year.

As for the EPL, though Cable Thai Holding (CTH) snapped up the rights for 2013 to 2015, TrueVisions is still hopeful of broadcasting some matches from next season. CTH are not ready to talk over a potential deal to share broadcasts, but Ong-ard said any deal would depend on four conditions – price, the number of matches, the matches’ importance, and whether they were broadcast in high-definition (HD).

He added that TrueVisions would begin broadcasting EPL matches as soon as the season starts if the deal between the two companies was done.

TrueVisions is conducting a survey to gauge whether the absence of EPL matches would affect the number of subscribers, though Ong-ard reckons it will only have a small effect.

TrueVisions changed its slogan from “King of Soccer” to “King of Sport” after its failure in November to maintain a grip on the EPL, Thailand’s most watched football league. Of the broadcaster’s 140-plus channels, 21 are devoted to sport, including three for HD broadcasts.

Other football leagues broadcast by TrueVisions are Italy’s Serie A, the Scottish Premier League, the Dutch Eredivisie, Portuguese SuperLiga, USA Major League Soccer and the TPL. A selection of matches from the TPL, Champions League, Europe leagues, and Serie A are broadcast in TrueVisions HD.