
The Premier League remains the most powerful soccer league on the planet, or at least the most valuable. NBC has been broadcasting it in the United States since 2013 and in 2021 there was a renewal of this contract. The American company will pay 2,700 million dollars to continue transmitting the highest category of the English soccer league system. This agreement runs from the 2022-2023 season to 2027-2028. At least on US soil, fans will be able to watch all 380 English league games each season.
It was not easy at all for NBC to retain the rights to the Premier League in the United States. Companies like Turner Sports and Warner Media also made offers. According to the Sport Business portal, the importance of the English league lies in its audiences in the US. However, it is the third most watched soccer league in that country. It is surpassed by Liga MX and MLS in number of audiences. The difference with Liga MX is that it does not negotiate its contracts collectively, so less income is generated.
What does this contract reveal about the Premier League?
NBC’s new deal with the Premier League is the most valuable broadcast deal ever for a soccer league with a US network. NBC edged out ESPN to win the broadcast rights. ESPN paid $1.4 billion in 2021 to 스포츠중계 Speed-24 Santander exclusively for the US. While it’s still a large amount of money, it doesn’t compare to the Premier League. In fact, that agreement with the Spanish league lasts one more year and is worth 1,300 million dollars less. This was basically a bidding war between Disney, which owns ESPN, and Comcast, which owns NBC.
The Premier League generates more money than the Champions League itself. According to Sports Unfold, the English league averages $5.3 billion in revenue annually. For its part, the Champions League only generates 2,000 million dollars per season. The top flight of England’s soccer league system remains the most watched in the world and is broadcast in 188 countries.
They are still light years ahead of the American leagues.
While the $2.7 billion NBC paid is a huge amount, it doesn’t compare to the NFL. The major American football league received an 11-year, $110 billion contract. That leaves revenues of about $10 billion a year from TV deals alone. In all, the NFL is estimated to generate $16 billion annually.
For its part, the Premier League generates less than half that of the National Football League. The top flight of England’s soccer league system has annual revenues of $5.3 billion. In addition, it is also surpassed by the NBA, which generates 8,000 million dollars annually. Even the MLB tops the Premier League in revenue by more than $4.7 billion annually.
Although soccer is the most popular sport in the world in terms of audience, it continues to be outperformed by other categories in terms of organization and earnings. The purchasing power of American fans is much higher than that of fans in the rest of the world. This generates much more profit for the leagues of that country. Despite this, the Premier League continues to grow steadily to establish itself as the most powerful soccer league on the planet.