Last month The Swiss Ramble had a nice analytical piece on the distribution of TV money in the English Premier League. Here is an excerpt:
[T]he Premier League’s TV rights deal is the envy of other leagues. At £1.1 billion a year, it is well ahead of the rest with only Serie A (£0.9 billion) coming close. Incredibly, the deal is twice as much as La Liga (£0.5 billion) and three times as much as the Bundesliga (£0.4 billion). The principal reason for the disparity is the overseas rights, which are worth nearly £0.5 billion in England, but are negligible everywhere else. This helps explain why English clubs are increasingly focused on this element of the deal.The full post is here.
This argument is further supported by looking at how other major leagues distribute their TV income. In England the current deal works out at 67% of the revenue being allocated by means of an equal share with 17% based on on-pitch performance and the same amount on popularity, defined as the facility fee for number of times a club is broadcast live. No other league distributes as anywhere near as much via an equal share.
And, as a fan, long may the equal share last.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fabulous compromise between the open market, and the US franchise-style operations.
Although, should the billions ever go into reverse which they must one day, then anyone outside the top few will be in serious trouble.