The Premier League continues its leadership in broadcast revenue compared to other major European leagues. The English top flight recently agreed to an $8.45 billion deal with Sky Sports/TNT to broadcast matches nationally. However, the league also collects nearly $2.3 billion in foreign media rights.
A large chunk of this foreign money, $424 million, came from the NBC/Peacock deal to broadcast Premier League matches in the United States. This is drastically different from the current agreements in place with LaLiga, Bundesliga and Serie A. The Financial Times reports that the Premier League generates more than $2.5 billion more in broadcast revenue each season compared to LaLiga. The Spanish top flight is the closest competitor to the Premier League.
Here in the US, ESPN previously bought the broadcast rights to LaLiga in 2021 for $175 million annually. CBS Sports currently owns exclusive rights to Serie A in a deal worth around $75 million a year. ESPN also pays $30 million a year for exclusive rights to the Bundesliga, but this fee will increase.
Only Barça and Real earn as much money in the media as the worst clubs in the Premier League
To put the media dominance of the Premier League into perspective, a recently relegated English club earned more broadcast funds than the champions of other European leagues. Norwich City, a team that finished last in the 2021/22 table, raised more money than Bayern Munich, AC Milan or Paris Saint-Germain. The bottom three clubs won their respective titles that specific season. Norwich only managed to win five of their 38 league games that year.
If we look at the statistics a little closer, we get even more revealing figures. Of all the best teams in Europe outside of England, only Barcelona and Real Madrid make more media money than the worst club in the Premier League. Other top clubs on the continent are overshadowed by these low-ranking English teams.
US money and national deals that benefit the Premier League
Money earned on media rights deals is converted into funds that are used in the transfer market. Major German, Italian and Spanish clubs previously used their financial power to boost smaller clubs. However, fans now regularly see teams like Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Wolves spend more than many foreign clubs.
The Cherries have recorded a net spend of around $231 million since returning to the Premier League in 2022. This includes a host of big-name signings such as Tyler Adams, Hamed Traorè, Alex Scott and Illya Zabarnyi.
Forest have spent even more in recent transfer periods. The East Midlands side has a net spend of $268 million over the same time period. The club signed 30 new players once they gained promotion alongside Bournemouth. 18 of these incoming players had transfer fees.
Wolves have also spent a lot of money lately on new transfers. The team racked up around $240 in net spending over four years between 2019 and early 2023. However, Wolves management had to reduce spending during the most recent transfer window due to Financial Fair Play concerns. The club generated around $82 million over the summer.
These English clubs that regularly try to avoid relegation are spending more than other more established European teams. For example, the aforementioned trio have spent significantly more in recent transfer windows than Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, Fiorentina, Sevilla and Valencia.
PHOTOS: IMAGO.
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