BEIJING, Feb 13 - China's 30 million English Premier
League fans will no longer be able to watch live matches for free
from next season. WinTV, run by Guangdong Provincial Television,
have won the broadcasting rights for three years from September --
and it will charge viewers 188 yuan ($24) a month for the
privilege.
"The fans will have to endure the pain of the change," WinTV chief
executive Song Zheng, who refused to disclose the fee his company
paid, told a news conference on Monday.
"Let's say goodbye to free Premier League. No more free lunch in
the future."
Chinese can currently watch games live on ESPN-Star, a joint
venture of Walt Disney Co. and News Corp. , via a local cable TV
broadcasting service which costs a fraction of the WinTV
price.
Chelsea are one of several Premier League clubs who have targeted
the Chinese market and the English champions recently launched a
Mandarin Web site. Song, whose station has just 40,000 subscribers,
said he was confident of winning over enough viewers among Chinese
obsessed with football and the English top flight.
WinTV will also provide coverage on mobile devices and the Internet
along with live TV. "Fans can enjoy the games in various convenient
ways," he said. "There's only one premise -- pay."
