The "difficulty of keeping 20 Premier League clubs united behind a collective TV agreement," despite the £8.3B ($10.5B) value of the current deal, "became apparent at the last summit," according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. ManU Exec Vice-Chair Ed Woodward "extended the meeting to hold private talks among the Big Six clubs" about the proposed new TV rights deal in China. The league "had expected unanimous approval," having secured its biggest overseas contract of £564M ($713M) from Chinese network PPTV for the next three-year rights cycle from '19. But Woodward needed to be "convinced about the deal" -- especially as Old MUTV has a joint venue with another Chinese TV network that "lost out" in the PL bidding. So Woodward "went into a huddle" with representatives from Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool before "eventually rubber-stamping the offer from China." Nevertheless, "the impromptu Big Six discussion caused significant concern" among the other 14 clubs, who were "not impressed with the divisive nature of a breakaway group and what it bodes for the future" (DAILY MAIL, 12/13).
