September 26: China Sports Media (CSM) has announced in a statement that they would prosecute five live streaming platforms, including Sike Soccer, Dongqiudi, Migu TV, huya.com and 360kan.com, which infringed on CSM’s exclusive media rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Since signing an agreement with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on February 28, 2017, CSM has obtained the exclusive media rights and sublicense rights of all AFC’s tournaments and matches from 2017 to 2020, including the Asian Qualifiers. 

However, many live streaming platforms in China broadcasted the Asian Qualifiers game against Iran and China on March 28 without obtaining the approval of CSM or the AFC. CSM released a statement condemning these platforms, but it did not work in the end. 

This September, CSM discovered five live streaming platforms broadcasting two more Asian Qualifiers games on August 31 and September 5 without media rights or approvals. This was found to be an infringement of CSM’s rights. 

Up to now, CSM has obtained the evidence and is now ready move forward with the prosecution of these platforms. 

Source: sina

Proofread by William Logsdon