what’s new: The Spanish professional soccer league has closed a media deal with a Chinese sports marketing company super sports media The association said on Wednesday, due to delayed payments.
Super Sports, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wuhan DDMC Cultura Co., Ltd. , He failed to pay the 45 million euro ($47 million) broadcast rights fee for the 2021-2022 season that was due on January 20. La Liga said it had decided to terminate the agreement in accordance with the contract and requested €105 million in compensation.
Shanghai-listed Wuhan DDMC said on Tuesday it had received notice from La Liga that the partnership was ending. The Chinese company said it had negotiated with La Liga to review the terms of the agreement, but had not reached an agreement. He added that the request for compensation is subject to the decision of a Spanish court.
Why that matters: Wuhan DDMC is another Chinese organization that lost broadcast rights to major international sporting events due to financial problems after a rights-buying spree several years ago.
In January, the UK Supreme Court ruled in favor of The English Premier League in its $213 million claim from Chinese broadcaster PPLive Sports International Ltd. in a disputed payment for the rights to watch Football League matches live.
Wuhan DDMC in 2019 signed a six-season deal with La Liga to acquire full media broadcast rights in China covering the 2019-20 season through the 2024-25 season. Games contributed about 30% of Wuhan DDMC’s sports-related revenue in 2021, totaling 1.3 billion yuan ($194 million).
The loss of the rights to show La Liga matches is another blow to Wuhan DDMC, which has suffered from a business downturn due to unrest over the pandemic. In May, the Asian Football Confederation said that China withdrew from its commitment to host the 2023 Asian Cup due to Covid-19 concerns. The company said the change would have major implications for Wuhan DDMC, which holds exclusive global marketing rights to the games.
Quick Takes are shortened versions of China-related stories for quick news you can use.
Contact reporter Han Wei ([email protected]) Edited by Bob Simpson ([email protected])
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