Premier League Announce Record £5.136bn TV Deal: Live Broadcast Rights For Sky And BT In Big Money Auction

Posted by

New TV deal sees 50% increase on current Premier League broadcasting rights contract.

The Premier League have agreed a bumper new TV rights package with Sky and BT of £5,136bn for three seasons between 2016/17 and 2018/19.

READ MORE:
Seven Top Players Who Could Be Set For Premier League Moves This Summer: Arsenal, Liverpool & Chelsea All Poised To Spend TV Money On New Signings.
Could Cristiano Ronaldo And Lionel Messi Come To The Premier League After 4.4bn TV Deal?.
What New Premier League TV Deal Means: Elite English Football Clubs To Get Much, Much Richer!.

The new deal represents a massive 50% increase on the current contract.

“Both Sky Sports and BT Sport have done a tremendous job in bringing the game to the fans as well as providing the revenue that allows clubs to invest in football, facilities, youth development and their communities,” Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said on their official website.

“It is an endorsement of what the Barclays Premier League delivers that these broadcast partnerships have been extended and enhanced today. We are grateful for the continued belief that Sky Sports and BT Sport have in the Premier League and our clubs, both as a sporting competition and organisations to work with.

“We are also grateful to the significant interest and participation in the process from other highly credible parties.

“Although we have had a successful outcome for this process, following on from the highlights’ award, there is still the ongoing Ofcom investigation to be concluded. We remain confident that the Premier League’s live UK broadcasting rights are sold in a way that is compatible with both UK and EU competition law as well as being of great benefit to the whole of English football.”

Sky have retained their current stronghold after recently announcing massive pre-tax profits for the six months to the end of 2014, securing five of the seven packages available – equivalent to 126 live matches.

BT did not bid for additional TV packages, above their current offering, as their move to acquire Champions League action may have left them short of funds and they have two packages equaling 42 live matches.

The BBC have already stumped up the £204m necessary to retain the rights to broadcast highlights via their Match of the Day offering.

Others that were tipped to be involved in the bidding process included Qatar-based BeIn Sports and Eurosport (via US-owned Discovery Network) – although their interest failed to materialise.

More Stories BBC English Premier League Sky Sports