According to a detailed investigation by the modelling group Stimson Center and their 38 North project, North Korea’s state network Korean Central Television (KCTV) began airing delayed and censored Premier League fixtures from at least January 2025. Broadcasts typically occur 150 days or more after the matches were played.
Each game is edited aggressively. A full-90-minute match is usually condensed into around 60 minutes, with English-language on-screen graphics replaced by Korean overlays and foreign logos blurred.
Games featuring South Korean players (such as Son Heung‑min of Tottenham, Hwang Hee‑chan of Wolverhampton, and Kim Ji‑soo of Brentford) are deliberately excluded from the broadcasts.
Despite the TV coverage, North Korea lacks any formal broadcast rights agreement with the Premier League, meaning the transmissions likely breach copyright and possibly international sanctions for aviation, satellite and telecoms content.
While the broadcasts provide rare moments of global sports for North Korean viewers, the heavy editing and selection mean fans see only a small number of matches, for example, just 21 of the 380 games from one season were aired.
The decision to permit foreign football content, albeit tightly controlled, comes as part of broader state efforts to offer sanctioned entertainment while guarding ideological and political boundaries.
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