Thai TV set to air Premier League matches for free
Rebecca Hawkes
| 29 June 2015
26 of the 380 live matches of the forthcoming English Premier League season will be shown free-to-air in Thailand, following a deal between Bangkok Media & Broadcasting and local rights-holder CTH.
The media group's digital high-definition channel, PPTV, will air the football matches in a bid to acquire a greater audience base, its president told The Nation newspaper, without disclosing how much the deal had cost.
Last year, Channel 3's operator, Bangkok Entertainment, reportedly paid about THB200 million (US$5.908 million) for the right to telecast 26 live Premier League matches.
Kematat Paladesh, president of PPTV, said advertisers had already been block-booked for the Premier League 2015-2016 slots on PPTV.
The channel has also acquired the broadcasting rights of Germany's Bundesliga football league for the next two seasons, as well as the 2015 UEFA Under-21 Championship and the International Champions Cup.
In addition, it is reportedly investing in new drama series, with a slate of ten prime time Thai offerings as well as top-rated Korean and Chinese dramas for the remainder of 2015 and next year.
PPTV is currently ranked 13th of the 27 free TV channels in Thailand, according to researcher Nielsen.