SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Sky Sports is reportedly looking to buy four out of the five available rights packages for the Premier League that are currently up for tender.
With the current television deal for the English top-flight due to close by the 2024-25 season, the battle for domestic broadcasting rights further intensifies ahead of what is set to be a lucrative bidding process.
In detail, Sky is looking to retain its two Sunday fixtures, Saturday night game and the Monday/Friday night slot, media reports have claimed, and the tender auction process for TV rights is expected to close next month.
TNT Sports is aiming to keep hold of its Saturday 12:30pm slot, whilst Amazon – which holds exclusive midweek games in the current deal – is aiming to gain rights for a new televised time slot.
The Premier League has announced that during the next broadcast rights cycle that live televised will go from 200 to 270 per season, and Sky Sports is seeking to get 200 games to solidify its position as the leading football broadcaster in the UK.
With the tender process revealing that 2:00pm Premier League games will be televised as part of the new rights deal, Amazon is aiming to buy the rights as teams competing in UEFA Europa League play in the week of the introduction of the new time slot.
However, despite Amazon’s reported interest, Sky Sports is keen to maintain its exclusive position as the only UK sports broadcaster for Premier League games on Sunday which could lead to a bidding war.
The decision to grow the amount of televised games is part of the Premier League’s efforts to maximise the next TV deal valuation, looking to increase its current £5bn valuation.
The new deal will kick in from 2025 to 2029 and with the confirmed interest of existing broadcasters seeking to renew, this window now appears shorter for other potentially interested platforms.
DAZN Chief Financial Officer, Darren Waterman, has previously expressed interest in broadcasting league games in overseas markets on the streaming platform. Apple TV has also been active in the live sports broadcasting market, notably being the exclusive MLS broadcast partner.
