It was recently announced that Major League Soccer would be changing dramatically with the agreement of a new broadcasting deal with Apple TV. According to Simon Jordan, the Premier League should be considering something similar.
The deal is worth $2.5b and will last from 2022 to 2032 as per The Guardian, giving Apple TV exclusive rights to MLS over the decade long period. It will also change the scheduling, with no blackout in place, all games will be played on Wednesdays and Saturdays, bringing to an end local broadcasts. Perhaps the biggest change is that it will all be available on a streaming service rather than a traditional television channel, with a dedicated platform for the competition.
Talksport pundit Simon Jordan has called on the Premier League to do something similar for themselves. Currently the broadcasting rights in the United Kingdom are divided between Sky, BT and Amazon, which leaves fans forking out for multiple subscriptions to watch all of the games. In Jordan’s mind, it would make more sense for the Premier League to control their own streaming.
“If you build your own platform, like the ‘Netflix of football’ idea that I’ve mooted for some time, charge 100 million people around the world who would easily subscribe to it £9.99-a-month, which is no great shake in terms of cost, you’d be generating £10-12 billion a year,” Jordan commented.
“You look at the £3 billion a year that they’re currently getting and that has associated costs, so of course there’s a point in question that the league should be getting off its backside and moving through the gears.”
? “I’ve talked about this for 3 or 4 years… the Netflix of football!”
? “Charge 100m people £9.99 p/m, you’d get £10bn-a-year!”
? “I’ve believe every game could be shown, I don’t believe in the 3pm ban.”
Simon Jordan says the MLS & Apple link-up is the future of football. pic.twitter.com/i1ju0fH3yn
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) June 16, 2022
Following the success of the Drive to Survive series, which revamped both interest and growth in the world of Formula 1, many other sports are considering how best to harness their content.
Jordan also added that it was time to do away with the 3pm blackout in England, which would bring England’s top division in line with the Spanish League for example. In La Liga, four games tend to be staggered throughout Saturday and Sunday, with a further fixture on Friday and Monday evenings.
“I don’t believe in the 3pm watershed anymore because it was only put in place to protect live attendances and live is live, and it’ll always be live and there will always be an audience for live.”
