The announcement this week that the Premier League had raised £625 million (almost $1250 million at today’s exchange rate) from the sale overseas broadcast rights means that over the next year the Premier League will share a total broadcast and media income of £2.7 billion over next three years (just under $5.4 billion), equivalent to £45 million (just under $90 million) per club per year. Note that $5.4 billion was the estimated total combined income of the other four major soccer leagues in 2004/05 (Italy, Spain, Germany, France). The Premier League has been a class apart in income terms for some time. An increasingly large share of the top players now play in England, and the Premier League is showing that it can capitalise on this in terms of overseas presence. If this continues, the Premier League will soon become a truly international brand. Meanwhile, the regulators who would like to see it cut down to size are sharpening their knives.
A global brand
