PL's new TV deal comes with annual £100m payments to lower leagues
Premier League set to seal new rollover £4.5BILLION broadcasting deal… but only ‘after agreeing to Government demands that they pay lower league teams an extra £100m a season in solidarity payments’
- Premier League set to confirm extension to existing deal worth around £4.5bn
- But UK government insist new deal will see more money paid to lower leagues
- New £100m top up deal to come on top of existing £140m ‘solidarity payments’
The Premier League is set to confirm a new broadcasting deal worth £4.5bn up until 2025, but only after reportedly agreeing with government demands to provide additional finances to lower league teams.
Sportsmail have already reported on how the new deal is largely an extension of the existing terms signed in 2018 which were due to expire in the summer of 2022.
The clubs discussed the matter for the first time on Wednesday and have reportedly agreed to the new deal set to start in time for the 2022-23 campaign.
The Premier League are set to confirm an extension to an existing TV deal worth £4.5bn
The Premier League have in the past pitted rival broadcasters against each other to secure lucrative deals but have changed tactics this time around following the financial uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a move to protect finances this has seen them agree to work again with Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon Prime.
According to the Financial Times, the government have provided assurances that this has not broken competition law but in return have demanded that England’s top flight hand down an extra £100m a season to lower league teams.
The figure is reportedly set to be paid on top of already existing so-called ‘solidarity payments’ of £140m paid on an annual basis.
The move will extend the current deal until 2025 and will protect the finances of top tier clubs
While the loss of matchday revenue has hit Premier League outfits, teams lower down the pyramid have suffered severe financial strain due a greater reliance on matchday revenue. Much of this has been lost due to supporters being banned from attending matches under lockdown restrictions since the start of the pandemic.
After being contacted by Sportsmail, the Premier League declined to comment on the new deal.
The move comes after fellow domestic leagues around Europe have seen their respective broadcast deals diminish as a result of the pandemic and the negative financial impact on the game.
Last month Italy’s Serie A deal for a media rights sale between 2021 and 2024 with DAZN has seen their income drop from €1bn (£860m) to €810m (£695m) a season.
While last June Germany’s Bundesliga saw their domestic rights TV deal take a five per cent hit on a previous agreement, with a new deal starting from next season and lasting until 2025 worth around €4.4bn (£3.8bn).
Share this article
Source: Read Full Article