The English Premier League has pledged to distribute at least £1bn (€1.4bn/$1.48bn) from the next cycle of its UK media-rights income outside the top division of football in the country.
At a meeting of the clubs in London yesterday (Thursday), the league decided that a minimum of 20 per cent of the UK domestic rights income would be distributed to the lower leagues and the grassroots of the sport in England – representing an increase of about 40 per cent on the current redistribution arrangement.
The league has awarded live domestic rights over three years, from 2016-17 to 2018-19, to UK pay-television broadcasters Sky and BT Sport for a total of £5.14bn.
League chief executive Richard Scudamore, who will become executive chairman as part of a boardroom shake-up confirmed yesterday, said that the final total to be distributed to “every level right down to the grassroots” was dependent on the outcome of ongoing international media-rights talks. The Guardian newspaper said that the next cycle could bring in a total of more than £3bn in global rights sales.
UK media regulator Ofcom is also investigating a complaint by pay-television operator Virgin Media into the sales model for the league’s rights.
“Clearly this package is dependent on the outcome of our international live rights and the ongoing Ofcom investigation, so the detail won’t be known until later this year or in early 2016,” Scudamore said.