Premier League TV rights: Government allows top flight to roll over existing deal - YEP 3/8/21
The existing live domestic TV rights are held by Sky, BT and Amazon, while the BBC has shown Premier League games live during the pandemic with fans unable to attend matches
The Premier League has been granted government permission to
roll over its existing domestic television deal with broadcasters for a further
three years.
The new deal with Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime Video
and BBC Sport will run from 2022 to 2025.
The previous deal was worth £4.7bn.
The government granted an exclusion order under the
Competition Act, allowing the league to renew without a normal tender process,
as a "temporary measure" in response to the pandemic.
Clubs had been concerned that, after a 10% drop in value
when the last rights deal was agreed in 2018, there would be a further downturn
if the usual open-market auction was insisted upon.
Sport Minister Nigel Huddleston said concerns about
consumers facing higher prices as a result of the decision were "carefully
considered" but the risk was deemed "low and outweighed by the
significant public policy benefits that would be delivered by providing
stability to the English football pyramid".
He added that broadcasters are expected to cost their
packages at current levels.
As part of the arrangement, the Premier League has agreed to
pay an extra £100m in "solidarity and good causes funding" to women's
football, League One and League Two clubs as well as the National League
competitions and grassroots game.
The existing level of financial support to the football
pyramid, from the Championship and below, has been guaranteed for the next four
years and covers a commitment to parachute payments and funding of youth
development. The existing commitment has been £1.6bn over three years.
In a letter, Huddleston said guaranteeing the £1.6bn by
allowing the exclusion order "would provide stability for the football
pyramid coming out of the pandemic".
"This funding would spread across the pyramid including
grassroots football, women's football, funding for lower league clubs, and
long-term income for clubs to plan for the future," Huddleston wrote.
"This is crucial given the losses sustained by football
during the pandemic, with around £2bn lost by the Premier League and its clubs
alone."
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said
England's top flight wants to work with "football partners to ensure that
this investment helps the game recover and lay foundations for a positive
future".
"This allows us to commit to increasing our support to
the football pyramid and communities for the next four years, which is vital
following the significant impact that Covid-19 has had on football,"
Masters said in a statement.
