English Premier League has reportedly decided to suspend their new six-year TV rights deal with Russian broadcaster Match TV.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Premier League suspended the Russian TV rights deal with their media group Rambler last March. That deal was officially set to finish at the end of the 2021/22 PL season.
Premier League and Match TV had a £43m deal, officially starting from 2022/23 season
From the beginning of the upcoming 2022/23 season, Match TV has the right to broadcast the PL matches in Russia. It is a six-year deal worth £43m. But due to the current situation on Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the Premier League has reportedly decided to suspend the beginning of the new Russian TV rights deal.
On Thursday (9th June), the Premier League annual general meeting was organized, and all the 20 clubs attended together in that meeting. During that meeting, the clubs were informed of the latest suspension on the new Russian TV rights deal.
However, there is yet to be clear about this suspension timeline. Whether this suspension means the complete cancellation of this new deal or it is a temporary decision before coming to any final decisions – these are yet to be confirmed.
The latest decision is not surprising in the present condition as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is still on.
Know about Match TV
Match TV is owned by Gazprom Media, the largest Russian media holding. This channel was created following the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Match TV was launched in November 2015.
Match TV has already broadcasted many top live sports competitions. Apart from broadcasting UEFA Euro 2016, FIFA Confederation Cup 2017, FIFA World Cup 2018 (in Russia), and UEFA Euro 2020, this channel has also broadcasted the last three UEFA Champions League seasons, and several German Bundesliga seasons.
Moreover, Match TV has also broadcasted the Olympics like Tokyo 2020 (Summer Olympics) and Beijing 2022 (Winter Olympics), along with five consecutive seasons of Formula One since 2016.
This Russian channel also has the broadcasting rights for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, which will run from 21st November to 18th December 2022.
