Coronavirus: DAZN writes to Premier League asking to suspend payments

Streaming service holds rights to stream all English top-flight matches in Brazil, Canada, Japan and Spain

The Premier League is the most lucrative football competition in world football. AFP

A streaming service has written to the Premier League asking for a deferral of its payments due to the uncertainty of the season being resumed.

DAZN, which holds rights to stream all English top-flight matches in Brazil, Canada, Japan and Spain, is seeking to halt payments until a decision is made on when, or if, the 2019/20 season will be completed, PA News agency has reported.

Football in England is unlikely to restart until May at the earliest, with the league following government advice as to when it can safely resume amid the coronavirus pandemic.

DAZN said in a statement: "We don't discuss commercial conversations but we're, of course, in the process of working closely with partners to reach reasonable solutions given the unprecedented circumstances."

Premier League clubs were reported to have told players in a conference call on Saturday that the cost of being unable to resume the season at all would be more than £1 billion (Dh4.5bn).

It is estimated that of that £1 billion, £762 million of it would be lost TV revenue, as rights holders either claw back money paid or withhold payments not yet made.

The Premier League's suggested 30 per cent wage cut or deferral strategy was discussed in a conference call with the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) and the League Managers' Association (LMA) on Saturday.

The proposal was rejected by the players, escalating a bitter public row as their union claimed the government would lose out on more than £200 million (Dh901m) in tax.

It is understood talks are continuing.

The PFA released a statement on Saturday saying players want to ensure any financial contribution they make will support their clubs, remove the need for non-playing staff at all levels to be furloughed and support the NHS.

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden told The Daily Telegraph on Monday that the apparent deadlock between clubs and players was "deeply concerning".