INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty Images/TwitchRussia's third-largest internet company is suing streaming service Twitch for 180bn roubles (£2.1bn) over
pirate broadcasts of English Premier League games
Rambler Group alleges its exclusive broadcasting rights were breached by the service more than 36,000 times between August and November
It is seeking to permanently ban the Amazon-owned platform in Russia
Twitch's lawyer has called Rambler's case "unfounded".Russia is the third-largest user of Twitch, which has more than 15 million daily
Its terms and conditions state users cannot share content without permission from the copyright owners, including films, television
programmes and sports matches
The streaming giant's lawyer, Julianna Tabastaeva, told Russian-language news website Kommersant Twitch "only provides users with access to
the platform and is unable to change the content posted by users, or track possible violations"
She added the company took "all necessary measures to eliminate the violations, despite not receiving any official notification from
The Moscow City Court will hear the case on 20 December
It has ordered a temporary suspension of English Premier League streams on Twitch pending the outcome."Our suit against Twitch is to defend
our exclusive rights to broadcast English Premier League matches and we will continue to actively combat pirate broadcasts," said Mikhail
Gershkovich, head of Rambler Group's sports project, in a statement.TheIndianSubcontinent News has contacted Amazon for comment
Rambler bought exclusive digital distribution rights for the English Premier League in 2019, for three seasons.It is holding talks with
Twitch in the hope of reaching a settlement agreement
Amazon holds the exclusive rights to a number of Premier League matches in the UK over the next three years
The company bought Twitch for $970m (£585m) in 2014
