<p>The English Premier League abruptly announced the termination of the big-money contract with its broadcaster in China in a two-paragraph statement on Thursday.</p>.<p>Streaming service PPTV had a reported $700 million deal for the rights to show all 380 Premier League matches per season from 2019 to 2022, but that mammoth agreement is now dead.</p>.<p>Here's what we know, and some key questions:</p>.<p>China, with its 1.4 billion population and the world's second-biggest economy, is a prime growth market for the Premier League. Along with the NBA, the Premier League is the most-watched foreign sports competition in China.</p>.<p>The vast sum paid by PPTV helped swell the coffers of the elite English clubs. The early end of the agreement deals a withering blow to top-flight English football, with the 20 teams already scrambling to adjust to heavy losses caused by the coronavirus.</p>.<p>It remains to be seen whether the Premier League will be able to negotiate a new rights deal in China on terms of a similar scale due to the challenging economic and political conditions.</p>.<p>Some experts say PPTV overpaid for the rights.</p>.<p>According to British media, the fall-out dates back to March, when PPTV reportedly failed to make a £160 million ($210 million) payment for coverage of the 2019/20 season.</p>.<p>The Premier League gave little away in its brief statement on Thursday, while PPTV, in its response, made reference to the coronavirus pandemic said: "After many rounds of talks, there remain disagreements on the value of rights between PP and the Premier League."</p>.<p>According to the BBC, citing sources, PPTV offered to extend the deal -- but under revised terms, taking into account the empty stands and the heavily disrupted fixture list caused by the coronavirus.</p>.<p>Owned by the Suning Holding Group, PPTV is a prominent streaming website that also shows several other major European football leagues and the UEFA Champions League.</p>.<p>Suning also owns Italian giants Inter Milan and the Chinese Super League team Jiangsu Suning.</p>.<p>Founded in 1990, the company has more than 280,000 employees worldwide, according to its company profile, and is involved in everything from retail to financial services and real estate.</p>.<p>In April, retail service provider Suning.com reported revenues in 2019 of 270 billion yuan ($40 billion).</p>.<p>The great unknown.</p>.<p>Relations between the British and Chinese governments have become strained in recent months.</p>.<p>Ties soured after London ordered the phased removal of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from its 5G network.</p>.<p>Britain also offered citizenship to millions of Hong Kong nationals in response to a sweeping new security law that Beijing has imposed on the former British colony.</p>.<p>The risks of the Premier League getting tangled up in thorny diplomatic issues were underlined in December, when Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pulled a game between Arsenal and Manchester City after Gunners midfielder Mesut Ozil expressed support for China's Uighur minority, which is facing a crackdown in Xinjiang province.</p>.<p>AFP was unable to reach Suning for comment and Chinese state media has stuck to reporting the facts of the Premier League-PPTV split, rather than offering an opinion.</p>.<p>One prominent columnist for a major state sports newspaper declined to comment because of the sensitivity of the issue.</p>.<p>A respected commentator accused British media of making a non-political story into a political one.</p>.<p>Opinion among football fans is split on the Twitter-like Weibo, where the story generated more than 100 million views, with some blaming PPTV and others accusing the Premier League for the collapse of the agreement.</p>.<p>But with the Premier League kicking off again in just eight days' time, Chinese fans will be desperate to see a new deal to get English football on their screens.</p>
<p>The English Premier League abruptly announced the termination of the big-money contract with its broadcaster in China in a two-paragraph statement on Thursday.</p>.<p>Streaming service PPTV had a reported $700 million deal for the rights to show all 380 Premier League matches per season from 2019 to 2022, but that mammoth agreement is now dead.</p>.<p>Here's what we know, and some key questions:</p>.<p>China, with its 1.4 billion population and the world's second-biggest economy, is a prime growth market for the Premier League. Along with the NBA, the Premier League is the most-watched foreign sports competition in China.</p>.<p>The vast sum paid by PPTV helped swell the coffers of the elite English clubs. The early end of the agreement deals a withering blow to top-flight English football, with the 20 teams already scrambling to adjust to heavy losses caused by the coronavirus.</p>.<p>It remains to be seen whether the Premier League will be able to negotiate a new rights deal in China on terms of a similar scale due to the challenging economic and political conditions.</p>.<p>Some experts say PPTV overpaid for the rights.</p>.<p>According to British media, the fall-out dates back to March, when PPTV reportedly failed to make a £160 million ($210 million) payment for coverage of the 2019/20 season.</p>.<p>The Premier League gave little away in its brief statement on Thursday, while PPTV, in its response, made reference to the coronavirus pandemic said: "After many rounds of talks, there remain disagreements on the value of rights between PP and the Premier League."</p>.<p>According to the BBC, citing sources, PPTV offered to extend the deal -- but under revised terms, taking into account the empty stands and the heavily disrupted fixture list caused by the coronavirus.</p>.<p>Owned by the Suning Holding Group, PPTV is a prominent streaming website that also shows several other major European football leagues and the UEFA Champions League.</p>.<p>Suning also owns Italian giants Inter Milan and the Chinese Super League team Jiangsu Suning.</p>.<p>Founded in 1990, the company has more than 280,000 employees worldwide, according to its company profile, and is involved in everything from retail to financial services and real estate.</p>.<p>In April, retail service provider Suning.com reported revenues in 2019 of 270 billion yuan ($40 billion).</p>.<p>The great unknown.</p>.<p>Relations between the British and Chinese governments have become strained in recent months.</p>.<p>Ties soured after London ordered the phased removal of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from its 5G network.</p>.<p>Britain also offered citizenship to millions of Hong Kong nationals in response to a sweeping new security law that Beijing has imposed on the former British colony.</p>.<p>The risks of the Premier League getting tangled up in thorny diplomatic issues were underlined in December, when Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pulled a game between Arsenal and Manchester City after Gunners midfielder Mesut Ozil expressed support for China's Uighur minority, which is facing a crackdown in Xinjiang province.</p>.<p>AFP was unable to reach Suning for comment and Chinese state media has stuck to reporting the facts of the Premier League-PPTV split, rather than offering an opinion.</p>.<p>One prominent columnist for a major state sports newspaper declined to comment because of the sensitivity of the issue.</p>.<p>A respected commentator accused British media of making a non-political story into a political one.</p>.<p>Opinion among football fans is split on the Twitter-like Weibo, where the story generated more than 100 million views, with some blaming PPTV and others accusing the Premier League for the collapse of the agreement.</p>.<p>But with the Premier League kicking off again in just eight days' time, Chinese fans will be desperate to see a new deal to get English football on their screens.</p>