Last season, the 20 competing football clubs in the English Premier League received a total of USD 2.37 bn in payments for the broadcast rights to the Premier League matches. This was a 60% increase compared to the $1.4bn of television revenue the previous year. As broadcasters prepare to bid for one of the worlds most sought after sporting events, the battle for the rights is heating up yet again and the money in question is more than in any previous season.
The auction could jump to more than 60% from the $4.5 bn deal struck by Sky and BT three years ago. The bidding for the sale of over $6.8 bn Premier League live TV rights for 2016-2019 will begin on February 6. In addition to domestic deals, another $3 bn will be added to the teams coffers from overseas deals.
Thanks to these broadcasting deals that all 20 teams feature in footballs 40 highest-earning clubs. Every Premier League club reported record revenue increases in 2013-14 and the Premier League clubs are likely to reinforce their position yet further due to their broadcast deal.
While Sky and BT will be making stringer bids this time around to retain the rights, American network Discovery and Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports are also expected to jump into the bidding battle on Friday with, as experts say, blockbuster bids.
The live rights battle between broadcasters is for the triple play market that includes the phone, internet and TV from one source and the quad play market that adds adds mobile phones. The vast bulk of the cash will end up being split among the Premier League clubs.
