PAOK move to PPV for Superleague opening stream – News – Media Rights, SmartSeries, Europe

Greek football champions PAOK will broadcast the first match of the upcoming 2019/20 Superleague campaign live from behind a paywall on their own over-the-top (OTT) service PAOK TV, as the club continues its search for a TV rights deal.

The top-flight team does not have an official broadcast partner for the upcoming season after rejecting a new offer worth 4.9 million euros ($5.43 million) made by the network national pay television company Nova Sports, despite the broadcaster’s offer which would have reached 50%. higher than his previous deal with the club.

Ahead of the 2018/19 campaign, Nova reached individual rights deals with five Superleague clubs, including eventual PAOK title winners, as part of the decision to move away from collective rights deals.

Now PAOK owner Ivan Savvidis is reportedly seeking a more lucrative television deal, with sports newspaper Gazzetta reporting that negotiations with public broadcaster ERT are underway for a one-year deal. worth about 7.5 million euros ($8.3 million). ).

ERT have reportedly reached a preliminary deal with five Superleague clubs, according to SportBusiness, although local reports claimed the network had tried to cut agreed fees by half and 30% ahead of the new season, both of which were rejected . .

In the meantime, PAOK are charging subscribers €4.99 (US$5.54) to access their league opener against Panetolikos on August 25, including pre- and post-match production . This decision makes PAOK the first team from Greece to broadcast a competitive match via its own streaming platform.

A PAOK statement read: “At a time when technology continues to make tremendous advances and is shaping a new digital landscape, PAOK has decided to be a pioneer and define the future on its own terms.

“We prefer to see the potential rather than the risk, to move away from old business models that lead to bankruptcy, to shape our future by building on the strength of our supporters and to offer the highest quality services to our own supporters, such as as well as football fans everywhere. The future is here.