Chinese state TV ‘demotes’ Premier League matches amid diplomatic spat with UK
Game between Liverpool and Chelsea thought to be first match dropped from CCTV’s main sport channel
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Your support makes all the difference.China Central Television (CCTV) has “demoted” Premier League football matches amid the escalating diplomatic row between Beijing and the British government, according to reports.
The state-controlled network has the right to show live games from England’s top flight division in China as one of the league’s official broadcasting partners.
However, the broadcaster is believed to have dropped Wednesday night’s match between Liverpool and Chelsea from its main sport channel CCTV-5 — moving it to the less-watched CCTV+5 outlet.
The Independent understands that CCTV’s contract with the Premier League does not involve the broadcaster having to show matches on any particular channel.
A decision to change the CCTV schedule will affect the remaining games of the Premier League season played this weekend, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person “familiar with the decision”.
It is unclear whether changes could affect the 2020-21 Premier League season — expected to kick off at the end of August or beginning of September.
China watchers described the apparent move to CCTV+5 as a “demotion” since it was a less popular channel than the flagship shorts channel CCTV-5.
It follows a series of increasingly bitter rows between China and the UK over the national security law imposed on Hong Kong and the decision to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from Britain’s 5G network.
Earlier this month, Boris Johnson decided any 5G kit already installed by the company must be ripped out by 2027. And earlier this week his government announced the suspension of the extradition treaty with Hong Kong over fears it could lead to dissidents from the territory being sent to Beijing.
British companies in China are thought to be worried they could be the target of retaliatory measures in the weeks ahead.
CCTV has a history of responding to political events. In 2019 the public broadcaster pulled coverage of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) opening season games after the Houston Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey mark remarks supporting pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong.
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