Most of the money in modern soccer is made in the Premier League, and has been for years—largely due to the TV revenues generated in England year after year. But now the Premier League is planning to break new ground in the marketing of its image rights and is launching its own streaming service.
As Richard Masters, CEO of the Premier League, announced at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London, the Premier League plans to launch its own streaming service. Initially, however, the British are taking a more cautious approach and testing the waters in Asia. Next season, “Premier League +” will launch in Singapore as the league’s first streaming service.
This will give the Premier League full control over its product, as it will bring its content directly to the end customer. So-called middlemen, such as established television stations or other streaming providers, will be left out. “We want to build a business,” said Masters, admitting that they still need to test how this will work: “We also want to learn how this can be replicated worldwide.”
However, the British do not want to rush into this, as the economic risk is simply too great. This is another reason why Masters spoke of a “very long, carefully considered process.” This is not surprising, given that the world’s strongest league in economic terms has so far relied entirely on third parties. Until now, it has sold its rights exclusively to established TV broadcasters such as Sky Sports and NBC – and has done very well out of it.
Not the first league with a direct distribution model
However, the pie currently has to be shared with the broadcasters. Without a middleman, the Premier League could keep the whole pie, but to do so, it would have to deal with things like “advertising, pricing, customer turnover, distribution, and all those things,” according to Masters. However, technology was also needed to drive the whole project forward – and the league wants to be equipped for that. That’s why the Premier League is also opening a new production center in London.
The Premier League would not be the first professional league to rely on direct distribution models. Successful examples can be found primarily in the US, where the NFL, NBA, and MLB have been using this model for years. It is unclear whether similar plans exist in Germany.