By John O’Leary
The English Premier League’s big six clubs have lost their battle to secure more money for overseas television. They will not be seeing a penny more from their lucrative international broadcasting deals. Players that were worth a fortune will take a small dip now too, but there will be a dip nonetheless.
Additional Consultation Came to Nought
Earlier on this month, a decision was made that saw additional consultation being deemed necessary about whether or not to move away from the present-day rules, which see rising revenues from non-domestic markets shared on an equal basis.
However, in a statement released on Tuesday, the Premier League made it known that a scheduled meeting for further discussions had been cancelled thanks to it becoming clear that there was no consensus for change.
While this will not affect punters who enjoy Aussie sports betting in the slightest, there is no doubt it will impact the top flight’s big hitters. Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Manchester City all believe they should be receiving a larger share of foreign broadcast contracts thanks to how popular they are abroad, and how much money there games are bringing into pockets other than their own.
The Two-Thirds Majority Couldn’t be Raised
A majority of two-thirds would be necessary in order for the current set-up to be changed, and the Premier League Executive Chairman, Richard Scudamore, hoped to persuade a minimum of 14 of the 20 clubs to support the proposal when they met on the 4th of October this year, in London.
The compromise that Scudamore proposed was that 35% of the overseas taking be allocated to the final league position, a similar formula for how the rights are worked out domestically.
This would have given the Chelsea Football Club an additional £12.4 million, reducing Sunderland’s take by the same amount, but, with the overseas income for the Premier League rising more rapidly than its domestic revenue is, this differential looked set to grow. The League, however, confirmed that any plans for a move from the current status quo would be shelved, at least for now.
Talk of Breakaway Leagues May Well be Revived
This apparent setback to negotiating a new arrangement may well see talks of breakaway leagues and clubs selling their rights themselves revived, which would bring the 25-year truce brought to an end. This truce saw the Premier League turn into a major national export, and the richest football league in the world.
Huw Jenkins Weighs In
Huw Jenkins, the Chairman for Swansea City, addressed the Premier League’s balance appeal in his programme notes before the home match with Huddersfield back in October. He stated that competitiveness, in his opinion, was the single most important factor that made the Premier League as appealing worldwide as it is, and that this aspect should be protected by any means necessary. He added that, although the big six are certainly the main focal point for many, any true football fan would quickly admit that winning games week in and week out without any kind of opposition is no fun at all.