Finance guru: Liverpool to reap rewards from ‘new kid on the block’ as £305m-a-year deal agreed
Liverpool will reap the rewards from the anticipated increase in competition for Premier League broadcast rights.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Amazon’s ambitions to shake up the TV hegemony.
The new UK rights deal for the 2024-27 Champions League cycle will see BT Sport, Amazon and the BBC pay a combined £305million a season, per Sport Business last Friday (1 July).
Amazon will broadcast 20 matches as part of the agreement in what is their first venture into Champions League football.
The Daily Mail reported on the day the deal was announced that Sky Sports are worried that Amazon’s move is a statement of intent.
It is understood that Sky fear that the e-commerce giants could now be a threat to their stranglehold over the Premier League.
Plumley claims that the “new kid on the block” is good news for the likes of Liverpool, who will earn more if there is a bidding war for top-flight TV rights.
“The theory is that increased demand will drive up the price,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Amazon have been making this play in recent years. They’ve tested the water in the Premier League and are now looking at the Champions League.
“BT have ended up paying less for more games. They have lost exclusivity but have come out of it with more games at a lower cost.
“It’s more about market position. Sky have been top dog ever since the start of the Premier League. There has never really been a threat until now with a new kid on the block.
“Amazon aren’t going to come in and be a threat straight away, but they do have the financial power to take them on. Sky are very much top of the pile, then it’s BT. It now depends on where Amazon fit in the current dynamic.”
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