INTERNET streaming site Twitch are being sued for 2.1billion over alleged pirate broadcasts of Premier League matches.
The Rambler Group, Russia’s third-largest internet company, have accused Twitch of breaching their broadcasting rights more than 36,000 times between August and November.
They also hope to get the online streaming site BANNED in Russia – despite the country being the third biggest user of the site in the world.
Mikhail Gershkovich, head of Rambler Group’s sports project, released an official statement on the matter.
He said: “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.”
But Twitch’s lawyer Julianna Tabastaeva, however, has called the claims “unfounded”.
She told Russian news site Kommersant that Twitch: “Only provides users with access to the platform and is unable to change the content posted by users, or track possible violations.”
Tabastaeva also asserted that the streaming giants took “all necessary measures to eliminate the violations, despite not receiving any official notification from Rambler.”
The case is due to be heard by the Moscow City Court on 20 December.
But Rambler are holding talks with Twitch to try and find a settlement agreement.
Twitch are owned by Amazon, having been bought for 585million back in 2014.
And Amazon themselves launched their own exclusive coverage of Premier League football in the UK earlier this month.
And they will screen another round of matches in the UK on Boxing Day.
