Now TV bids for Premier League rights

Now TV, the second-largest provider of pay TV in Hong Kong, is reportedly bidding for the rights to screen English Premier League football matches in Hong Kong for three seasons starting next year, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday.

Now TV, which is a subsidiary of Hong Kong's largest telecoms company PCCW Ltd., is competing against Hong Kong-listed Television Broadcasts Ltd. and current rights holder i-Cable Communications Ltd., which is also a Hong Kong-listed company.

The report quoted an unidentified source from Now TV would bid for the rights when the auction process begins in December this year. i-Cable Communications' has held the local rights to the screening of the EPL since 2001. Its latest contract is for three years and will expire in May next year.

i-Cable Communications is presently the largest provider of pay TV in Hong Kong with 770,000 subscribers as of the middle of this year. Now TV has just 650,000 subscribers.

The PCCW subsidiary is hoping that securing the rights to broadcast the EPL will give it the boost it needs to grow its subscriber base and surpass its closest rival. According to the report by the South China Morning Post, Now TV is likely to bid in partnership with ESPN Star Sports, a unit that is jointly owned by The Walt Disney Co. and STAR Group Ltd.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.