Premier League opens APAC office in SG, aims to fight content piracy

The Premier League has opened its international office in Singapore, as its base for the Asia Pacific region. This was also established to fight piracy of Premier League content and support broadcast partners. This will include deploying the league's enforcement programme across multiple markets and assisting licensees with activation of their rights and promotion of the competition. Premier League's director of broadcasting Paul Molnar said that it is critical to deploy local resource and expertise to combat the increasing threat of piracy which undermines all stakeholders in the creative industry. "The Asia Pacific region is strategically important for the Premier League and its clubs. Singapore provides an excellent location for our first international office and we look forward to using this base to support our many broadcast partners across the region,” he added. In addition, the Premier League said it has commenced criminal action against suppliers of illicit streaming devices and, very recently, began working with the Thai authorities to support raids of suppliers of illicit streaming devices. The Premier League is also a member of the Coalition Against Piracy which represents the creative industries across the region. Its anti-piracy efforts in Asia also include blocking action against illegal apps in Singapore. The opening of its office also looks to reaffirm the league's commitment to its fanbase in Singapore and across the entire region. The league and its clubs has over millions of fans in Asia, and the Premier League has a number of contracts with broadcasters on a market-by-market basis to make available all 380 matches per season to viewers across the region.