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Some EPL clubs concerned about Pay-TV in China

Some of the English Premier League's biggest clubs are reportedly at loggerheads over a deal to beam top-flight matches into Chinese homes. According to Mark Kleinman in the Daily Telegraph, the clubs are seriously concerned about China's new television agreement, which will see matches shown by Win TV, a division of Guangdong Provincial Television. Although Win TV is understood to have agreed to pay about US$50 million over three years, an improvement on the previous deal, clubs "are furious" that its limited pay-TV audience may restrict the dynamic growth of English football in the world's most populous country. Reports in Chinese newspapers earlier this year said Win TV had fewer than 40,000 paying subscribers, with customers likely to be charged 188 renminbi (£12) per month to access a new Premier League channel.

"Manchester United and Chelsea have launched Mandarin-language websites to appeal to millions of mainland Chinese, and United alone estimate that they have well over 20 million fans in China. The Premiership has a vast audience in Asia, with a total TV audience of 818 million last season," the newspaper commented.