The Premier League, the top tier of English soccer, has secured another television rights deal in Asia, signing a partnership with ESPN Star Sports that will cover 16 territories.
ESS will screen the Premier League in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Laos, the Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and South Korea. The rights are not on the scale of the recent agreements concluded in Singapore and Malaysia, but still represent a significant contribution towards overseas television revenues that the Premier League expects to top US$1 billion per season.
The league's international rights have been an ever-more lucrative revenue stream for the top clubs. Last year, Manchester United and Liverpool topped the list of television earnings, with the Premier League champions collecting UK£51.5 million. Liverpool also broke the UK£50 million mark, albeit narrowly, collecting UK£50.1 million. Both clubs can expect those amounts to increase next year when the new rights cycle begins.
The 20 Premier League clubs collected a total of UK£790 million, with UK£70 million of parachute payments made to clubs relegated into the Championship and a further UK£136 million distributed throughout the game.
The deal is worth even more to the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool because of their growing ambitions to market themselves throughout the region covered. Earlier this year, Manchester United opened the first ever Manchester United Restaurant and Bar in India, while Liverpool's new sponsor, the bank Standard Chartered, will be selling the club's shirts in its Asian branches.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said: "We have worked with ESPN Star Sports in a number of overseas territories for many years and we are very pleased to extend that partnership for seasons 2010/11 to 2012/13. We are proud to be working with an organisation that is world renowned for quality sports broadcasting and we have every confidence that they will continue to broadcast Barclays Premier League football in an exciting and innovative manner."
ESS will screen the Premier League in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Laos, the Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and South Korea. The rights are not on the scale of the recent agreements concluded in Singapore and Malaysia, but still represent a significant contribution towards overseas television revenues that the Premier League expects to top US$1 billion per season.
The league's international rights have been an ever-more lucrative revenue stream for the top clubs. Last year, Manchester United and Liverpool topped the list of television earnings, with the Premier League champions collecting UK£51.5 million. Liverpool also broke the UK£50 million mark, albeit narrowly, collecting UK£50.1 million. Both clubs can expect those amounts to increase next year when the new rights cycle begins.
The 20 Premier League clubs collected a total of UK£790 million, with UK£70 million of parachute payments made to clubs relegated into the Championship and a further UK£136 million distributed throughout the game.
The deal is worth even more to the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool because of their growing ambitions to market themselves throughout the region covered. Earlier this year, Manchester United opened the first ever Manchester United Restaurant and Bar in India, while Liverpool's new sponsor, the bank Standard Chartered, will be selling the club's shirts in its Asian branches.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said: "We have worked with ESPN Star Sports in a number of overseas territories for many years and we are very pleased to extend that partnership for seasons 2010/11 to 2012/13. We are proud to be working with an organisation that is world renowned for quality sports broadcasting and we have every confidence that they will continue to broadcast Barclays Premier League football in an exciting and innovative manner."
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