The English Premier League (EPL) is all set to strike a record US$2bn deal as it finalises on a licensing and broadcasting deal in the United States.
A staple in global football championships, the EPL, has slowly made inroads into the United States (US) as it gains solid popularity among soccer fans in the country.
This could soon result in a record broadcasting deal as OERLive learns that three broadcasters are currently vying in auction for the TV rights of the competition from 2022/23 until 2027/28 in the US.
The rumor mill states that EPL is now expected to sell its broadcasting rights for US$2bn – which is double the cost of the deal it struck back in 2015.
As per the Financial Times, the three bidders competing for the rights in the US are Comcast’s NBC; the current rights holder in the country, Disney’s ESPN; and ViacomCBS.
Concerned that the EPL will experience a drop in interest from the American audience following the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition’s executives say that they didn’t expect the income of the US rights to double.
Meanwhile, ESPN acquired LaLiga Santander’s TV rights back in May for a reported US$1.4bn, with CBS taking over rights to UEFA Champions League and the Italian Serie A.
Last week, the Daily Mail reported that the EPL is expected to receive a huge financial boost as the league is reportedly close to securing a combined 11.6bn Euro deal to sell its TV rights for the period between 2022 and 2025 to domestic and foreign providers.
As a result of these financial gains, the EPL’s dominance is only set to continue.
Able to pay higher transfer fees and offer higher wages than most clubs in the world, the gap could further widen between the teams in England and those from elsewhere in Europe.
For example, of the 20 most expensive transfers made last summer, 14 were from clubs in the English Premier League.
