Sources: Critical Liverpool takeover update as £5.1billion issue flagged
Prospective Liverpool investors have been made aware that the Premier League’s domestic broadcast rights could fall in value by as much as £750million ahead of the next rights cycle, sources have told Football Insider.
Liverpool pocketed an estimated £162.3m in Premier League media income in 2021-22 and are projected to announce total revenue of over £600million for that campaign.
But a source based at a football research consultancy firm has told Football Insider that interested parties have been made aware that domestic TV rights are likely to wane in the next three years.
The current broadcast deal – which was agreed with Sky, BT Sport and Amazon in May last year – is worth £5.1billion and runs until the close of the 2024-25 season.
The rights were awarded without the usual auction process after the Premier League successfully lobbied the government for an exclusion, citing economic damage caused by the pandemic.
Most analysts agree that the TV bundle, which includes the BBC’s Match of the Day highlights package, would otherwise have been worth less in the eyes of UK broadcasters.
Media revenue is typically Liverpool’s single biggest income stream and a fall in league-wide TV cash would likely have an influence on the price a prospective bidder would pay for the club.
However, there is confidence at Premier League HQ that a decrease in domestic rights will be offset by the division’s various international deals.
The overseas rights totalled £5.3bn at the last count, eclipsing the value of the UK rights for the first time.
Sky, whose investment comprises the majority of the domestic broadcast deal, are owned by multinational telecommunications group Comcast, who last month posted a £3.2billion loss for three months up to 31 September.
Of that figure, £7.67bn was attributed to an impairment charge relating to Sky, with Comcast claiming that economic and geopolitical factors had affected the broadcaster’s income in the UK and the rest of Europe.
Chartered accountant and football finance analyst Viva Mukherjee told Football Insider that Comcast’s overall financial picture is “satisfactory and will not lead to them going against their business strategy with respect of Sky.”
“Their strategy historically has been to bid low. That indeed does depict that the value of the Premier League rights will decrease over time ahead of the next auction in 2025.
“Also, the next tender won’t happen for some time and BT are looking to divest their sports business or find a strategic partner, which might mean they bid less in future.
“Amazon don’t look like they are looking to increase their rights significantly at this stage. So while the impairment charge specifically won’t affect the value of the deal, the value is still likely to fall.”
Fenway Sports Group confirmed earlier this month that they were exploring options to sell Liverpool.
India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani has been linked with a takeover, as have private consortiums from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
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