Suning’s crisis is slowly presenting itself. In addition to defaulting on the wages of Suning’s club players, even the money for the Serie A broadcast has not been paid.
On February 6 at 3:45 am Beijing time, Fiorentina vs Inter Milan Serie A match was held. As Suning has not paid the broadcasting fee to IMG – the company that owns the overseas broadcasting rights of Serie A for several months, Suning’s PP Sports was cut off the broadcasting signal this morning, and Chinese fans did not see the match. The game was a paid match, and many Chinese fans had paid for tickets to watch the game, so how will it be handled is still to be determined by Suning, and PP Sports has lost the Serie A broadcast. It seems that the rumors of selling Inter Milan are not groundless, so will Suning Club’s main players be put on the transfer market for liquidity? The related issue has caused a hot debate in the Chinese fan circle.
Why can’t the event be played normally? There are two very different explanations for this.
PP Sports customer service told the reporter that some users could not watch the game due to “signal transmission problems”, while other games in the second half of the season might be affected; Italian soccer journalists Pasquale Guarro and “Xiaowu in Milan” said that it was because PP Sports defaulted on broadcasting rights fees.
Is PP Sports Serie A’s failure to play normally related to “delayed broadcast fees”? On the morning of February 6, the reporter contacted the Suning Group, the parent company of PP Sports, and the relevant staff told the reporter: “Currently, communication is underway, and the specific situation must be disclosed to the public based on the results of the communication.” The staff also said that Suning “will look at this kind of cooperation more and more rationally.”
Wake up early to watch more than 90 minutes of promo
As early as 1989, Serie A was introduced to China, and it has been 32 years since this year. Because of the time difference between China and Italy, insisting on getting up and watching football in the early morning is the “faith” of many Chinese fans for 10 years. However, when they got up early this morning (February 6), they didn’t see the game they loved.
At 3:45 in the morning, the reporter logged into PP Sports and found that only the Serie A promotional video was on the broadcast screen, and the official game screen had not appeared for a long time. On the smart TV platform, PP Sports’s Serie A broadcast service also has the same abnormality.
As a century-old Serie A giant, Inter Milan has a large number of die-hard fans in China, and Fiorentina, as a strong team, also has many fans. The inability to rebroadcast has caused heated discussions in the chat room on the rebroadcast page and in the major fan communities, and voices requesting PP Sports to refund membership fees appear from time to time. After the start of the second half of the game, the chat room disappeared from the broadcast page.
PP Sports host Liu Teng said on Weibo: “Due to signal transmission problems, the game cannot be played normally, and it is under intense debugging…Please be patient!”
At 5 o’clock in the morning, the game ended and Inter Milan won by two goals, but the broadcast was not resumed until the end of the game, and a propaganda film was played all the time. Some fans complained about the advertisement (promotional video) in PP Sports for more than 90 minutes.
Suning responded: “Currently communicating”
Regarding the issue of why the event could not be played normally, the customer service of PP Sports told the reporter that it was a “signal transmission problem that caused some users cannot watch it.” The customer service said that some users can watch normally, “I can watch it on my own phone.” The customer service also suggested: “Continuous monthly subscription (paid membership service) is best canceled. Because I am afraid that the remaining Serie A games may still be Like today.”
Regarding this matter, Italian football reporter Guarro (Pasquale Guarro) gave a completely different explanation: “The game between Florence and Inter Milan was not broadcast in China because PP Sports (Suning Media) did not pay the copyright fee on time. The broadcast of Serie A Right is denied.”
Reports from the Italian media football market claimed that the PPTV owned by Suning Group had lost the broadcasting rights of Serie A due to serious arrears in broadcasting fees. According to the football market, because Suning has not paid the broadcast fee to IMG, the company that owns the overseas broadcast rights of Serie A, PPTV has lost the broadcast rights of Serie A.
The Special Correspondent Xiaowu of Sports Weekly All Media in Italy also said: “I have just verified that in Italy, PP Sports has been in arrears in broadcasting fees since this season, and the broadcaster has suspended Serie A broadcasting rights, which is similar to the situation in the Premier League this season. How to solve this problem and whether it can be solved has to wait for Suning to explain.”
Xiaowu also said: 1. It is almost certain that Chinese fans will not see this round of Serie A matches in official channels; 2. The hope that the remaining Serie A matches will continue to be broadcast in PP Sports is relatively slim, and Suning has not paid the broadcasting fee for nearly a year.
Is PP Sports Serie A’s failure to play normally related to “delayed broadcast fees”? On the morning of February 6, the reporter contacted the Suning Group, the parent company of PP Sports, and the relevant staff told the reporter: “Currently, communication is underway, and the specific situation must be disclosed to the public based on the results of the communication.”
Piracy, suspension of broadcasting, arrears of salary, sales of teams…
This situation seems familiar. At the beginning of this season, PP Sports terminated its contract with the English Premier League due to the “global epidemic challenge” and “copyright value differences”. The parent company Suning and its suspected financial problems have been hotly discussed by fans recently.
In recent years, Suning’s sports business has achieved excellent results. Inter Milan Football Club, which has been sinking for many years, has revived strongly under its banner. Currently, it has temporarily reached the top of the Serie A league. Jiangsu Football Club won the Super League championship last season. Everyone praised his performance. PP Sports is the mainstream watching platform used by many fans.
However, according to a number of domestic and foreign media reports, Suning may sell its Inter Milan Football Club and is negotiating an acquisition with British private equity firm BC Partners. The former president of Inter Milan, Mr. Moratti, recently expressed his surprise at the news. He told the media that “after all, the epidemic has made it difficult for companies all over the world.” Inter Milan Football Club and Suning’s other team, Jiangsu Football Club, have also successively encountered problems with wages. According to many media reports, Jiangsu coach Olaroyu also has increased conflicts with the club because of this matter, and it is very likely that he will not continue to coach the team.
The reporter learned that a large number of anchors on the Internet have privately set up live football channels and edited short video collections. These suspected infringements have had an impact on paid legitimate channels such as PP Sports. The relevant staff of Suning Group told reporters that because of the existence of these phenomena, copyright broadcasting channels have been less focused. In September last year, Suning issued a copyright statement stating that any form of infringement, piracy and piracy will be investigated in accordance with the law.
In fan communities such as Weibo and Dongqiudi, many fans also expressed that many industries have been impacted by the epidemic environment and hope Suning can survive. Fans hope to continue to watch football matches and support their favorite team.
In addition, Suning’s other business issues are also hotly discussed in the financial circles. Many pieces of news about Suning’s debt crisis circulated on the Internet, saying that Suning’s current debt scale is huge, and there are many debts to be repaid in the short term, cash flow is insufficient, and capital flow is facing greater pressure.
However, on December 8th last year, Suning responded to the “financial crisis” rumors on the official Weibo: “Our company has noticed some false rumors on the Internet recently, and our company solemnly declares that none of the rumors are true. The rumor has had a bad impact on our company’s normal operations and brand reputation. The company has reported the case to relevant departments to verify the source of the information, and pursue the legal responsibility of the rumors.”
Source: Red Star News