EPL Extends Partnership With Broadcasters In £5 Billion Deal

English Premier League (EPL) clubs have unanimously agreed to a three-year renewal worth £5 billion (AUD$9 billion) with broadcast partners Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime Video and BBC Sport.

The deal includes both live and non-live domestic broadcast and will be approved in principle by the United Kingdom (UK) government with an exclusion order (under the Competition Act 1998) to conclude the renewals without a normal broadcast rights tender process.

Following  the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the season, as well as the fallout from the European Super League collapse, EPL chief executive, Richard Masters, said that the deal would “reduce uncertainty, generate stability, and promote confidence within the football pyramid.”

“We are hugely appreciative of the government agreeing in principle to allow this arrangement and for their continued support for the Premier League and the English game,” Masters said.

The deal will also allow the EPL to fund lower English clubs, with the EPL providing £1.5 billion (AUD$2.7 billion) before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The renewals will add an additional £100 million (AUD$181 million) of funding to the lower tiers over the next four years and will cover a variety of English soccer organisations including the National League system, women’s football and anti-discrimination groups.

Masters said: “We know that, once concluded, this will have a positive impact on the wider industry, jobs and tax revenues and will enable us to maintain and increase our existing solidarity and community financial commitments to the football pyramid for the next four years, even though we are yet to understand the full impact of the pandemic.”