Premier League Clubs Fail To Resolve TV Money Debate

A move by Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City – the so called “big six” – to have more of a share of the Premier League’s international television broadcast revenue was discussed at a meeting of the 20 top-flight clubs on Wednesday, but failed to come to an agreement. 

The proposal, presented by the league’s executive chairman Richard Scudamore, suggested 35% of global revenue should be divided based on league position, following mounting pressure from the leading clubs to be awarded a larger share of the cash, due to their larger global appeal. 

Those funds are currently distributed equally among the Premier League’s 20 clubs.

Scudamore had been working to gain the necessary two-thirds majority for the rule change, however no vote was taken due to a lack of support, with another meeting of the clubs expected in November.

That cash is seen as having the biggest scope for growth under the next set of broadcast deals, which the Premier League is expected to put out to tender at the turn of the year.

Both sides are, however, in agreement about the increasing importance of overseas broadcast revenue to balance sheets. The meeting had been mooted to be the last before negotiations begin on a new round of domestic TV rights, with Sky and BT once again expected to spend billions. But growth is expected to be lower than the 70% achieved for the last contract, while overseas rights continue to rise sharply. The current £3bn overseas deal for 2016-19 generates £39m annually for each club. 

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