Chinese sports and entertainment firm Wuhan DDMC Culture Co. agreed to buy Super Sports Media for $500M, it said on Wednesday, giving it the TV rights to the Premier League in China, according to Pei & Twinnie of REUTERS. Super Sports Media, a Cayman Islands-based company, is the current holder of EPL broadcasting rights in China, which it owns through the '18-19 season. The latest deal "signals a consolidation of power" over football rights in the world's second-largest economy as Chinese companies "spend heavily to capture sports viewers." Super Sports has been streaming the English game in China for the past seven years. However, last year, it was outbid by PPTV, a unit of retail giant Suning, in a $700M, three-year deal for EPL content rights from '19. DDMC, which "has business in marketing and agent services and other sports investments," set up a joint venture last month with Suning to manage foreign football rights in China. The consolidation means Suning, the owner of Serie A side Inter Milan, and DDMC will have most European football rights under their control, including La Liga, the Bundesliga and the EPL (REUTERS, 7/12).
