Scudamore’s crunch TV vote on hold

PREMIER LEAGUE chief Richard Scudamore was on the retreat yesterday after a critical club vote that threatened his control of the top flight was adjourned. The executive chairman had been working round the clock to gain the necessary 14-6 majority for the rule change wanted by the Big Six clubs. The Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham want 35 per cent of overseas money to be allocated by league placings rather than shared equally — as has been the case since the Premier League was formed in 1992. But it became obvious, when soundings were taken from the 20 clubs before the proposed vote at yesterday’s London summit, that Scudamore was nowhere near achieving his goal. other than the Big Six, only Leicester, West Ham and Everton — plus possibly Newcastle — were in favour. But that still left half of the Premier League owners not prepared to cede so much money to the big clubs, who believe they should be rewarded for driving the rise in price of overseas rights. The American owners of Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Swansea all believe that the value of their clubs would fall significantly if they receive a smaller share. If the vote had taken place with its current level of support, it would have been a major setback to Scudamore. Until this issue, he had always championed the unity of the 20 clubs, which has been the bedrock for the Premier League becoming the richest football competition in the world. But the adjournment, unanimously agreed by the clubs, has given him time to come up with a formula that both sides can accept. one idea being mooted, which would certainly achieve more support among the divided clubs, is for the 35 per cent split to only come into play for overseas money in the next contract from 2019-20 above the £3billion figure in the current deal. So no clubs would lose out and the expectation is for the overseas market to increase significantly compared to the £5bn domestic one at the next tender. FACEBOOK’S head of sports did not rule out a bid for Premier League broadcast rights, with the next set of deals to be auctioned next year. Dan Reed said: ‘The Premier League is a very important partner of ours... but it would be premature to speculate on how we might approach that opportunity.’