With the English Premier League (EPL) set to kick off this weekend, soccer fans in Taiwan are set to be disappointed with no live broadcasts of games to be shown on local sports channels.
For the first time in many years, Premier League games will not be shown on Fox Sports channels [formerly ESPN and StarSports] in Taiwan.
The move represents a new era for soccer fans, with beIN Sport the new player in town.
According to a company news release, beIN Sport, with its partner MP & Silva, has secured the media distribution rights for Premier League games for the next three seasons in the Philippines and Taiwan.
An affiliate of al-Jazeera Media Networks, beIN Sport will also broadcast games from Italy’s Serie A, France’s Ligue 1, the FA Cup, US Major League Soccer and other major soccer tournaments.
In Taiwan, the company aims to launch three high-definition TV channels this month, including a 24-hour channel dedicated to Premier League games and news.
The move cannot come soon enough for soccer fans because with the Premier League kicking off on Saturday, there are currently no live matches being offered by local TV stations.
Telephone calls from the Taipei Times to MOD (Chunghua Telecom’s TV service) and various major cable TV distributors for Greater Taipei, Greater Taichung and Greater Kaohsiung confirmed this “state of limbo.”
None of the companies contacted are offering beIN Sport or other new soccer channels in the coming months, and company officials indicated they will be sticking to the regular offering of Fox Sports, StarSports, ASN and Videoland for sports programming.
According to a local media industry source, the National Communications Commission, the nation’s media regulator, could be an obstacle to the new soccer offerings, along with the need for collaborating with a local partner to negotiate financial and rights agreements.
The source also cited issues with acquiring operating licenses for new TV networks, saying the process is drawn out, with regulatory reviews and other official requirements to be navigated.
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
RSS