Premier League signs record $1.34B deal
Broadcasters agree to pay 70 per cent more for rights to richest soccer championship
LONDON— The world’s wealthiest soccer championship by sales just got $1 billion a year richer after the Premier League’s record $9.8 billion broadcasting rights sale.
Sky Plc and BT Group Plc agreed to pay 70 per cent more for the U.K. rights to 168 games a season than they did in the last three-year cycle. That works out to £700 million ($1.34 billion) a year.
“That money will continue to be invested in players, clubs and new stadia,” chief executive officer Richard Scudamore said at a press conference in London Tuesday. “It allows the clubs to plan for the future.”
Premier League teams will be “even more competitive compared to their European counterparts,” Scudamore said. “And you can’t escape the fact that it will make our clubs more competitive against each other.”
Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal accounted for about half of the estimated 130 million pounds ($249 million) Premier League soccer teams spent in the month-long trading window that closed Feb. 2, Deloitte LLP said.
Spending by the Premier League dominated other European leagues. Italy’s Serie A clubs invested about half the amount of the top 20 English teams on transfer fees, while squads from Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga spent less than half on signings. Chelsea, seven points clear of Manchester City at the top of the league, had an £18.4-million ($35.3 million) profit last year.