Premier League TV and commercial revenue up 17% to UK£12.25 ...

The Premier League’s global and domestic commercial and broadcast revenue has gone up by 17 per cent to UK£12.25 billion (US$15.3 billion) for the 2025 to 2028 cycle.

The figures were shared with English soccer’s top-flight clubs at a shareholders meeting in central London on 22nd November.

The increase from UK£10.5 billion (US$13.1 billion) in the 2022 to 2025 cycle was understood to have been driven by a significant rise in overseas broadcast revenue, which had also outstripped domestic TV earnings in the last cycle.

Within those figures are what league sources describe as a significant global deal disclosed to clubs during the meeting, plus the UK£6.7 billion (US$8.4 billion), four-year domestic deal agreed with Sky Sports and TNT Sports which starts next season.

Outside of the UK, the Premier League recently announced a broadcast deal in Thailand with Jasmine International which will be worth US$233 million for the upcoming cycle, while new agreements have also been secured in markets such as Mexico, Japan and the Caribbean. 

Elsewhere, renewals have been agreed with the likes of Sky in Germany and Italy, DAZN in Spain and Portugal and PCCW in Hong Kong. Broadcasters in other key territories, such as NBC in the US and Viaplay in the Nordic region, have lucrative deals covering both the current and upcoming cycle.

From a sponsorship perspective, the Premier League has struck a new UK£52 million (US$65 million) deal with beer brand Guinness and recently extended its longstanding partnership with Barclays for a reported UK£75 million (US$94 million).

The Premier League meeting produced another major media story as the competition announced that its clubs have unanimously agreed to bring its broadcast operations work in-house from 2026/27, which affords the league the option of launching a so-called ‘Premflix’ direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform in future should it wish to go down that route in some territories.

The decision will mean the end of the Premier League’s long-running partnership with IMG, which has been producing and distributing content from the competition since 2004 through Premier League Productions (PLP). 

As part of that remit, PLP delivers 6,000 hours of content every season to the Premier League’s 55 international broadcast partners, covering 189 markets globally. Coverage includes all 380 matches live, as well as a 24/7 content service and other support programming such as magazine shows, including the Fantasy Premier League Show and The Final Word.

The Premier League and IMG will continue to work together for the next two seasons before the competition’s in-house operation takes over in 2026. Further details about the new business are to be announced in due course, prior to its launch.

Within a joint statement issued by the two parties, Barney Francis, the former Sky Sports managing director who now serves as executive vice president of studios for IMG, described the company’s work with the Premier League as “game-changing” for how fans watch soccer and the growth of the competition’s international audience and business.

Paul Molnar, the Premier League’s chief media officer, added: “IMG has been a fantastic partner for the Premier League over the past 20 years. They have worked tirelessly on our behalf to provide world-class content and services to our international partners. During this time, our partnership has been at the forefront of broadcast innovation to deliver top-class programming week in, week out throughout the season. This has all come together to play a vital role in growing our global audiences and popularity.

“As we move the media production operations in-house, we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a best-in-class content service to our partners and millions of passionate fans around the world.”

The move will be seen as a blow to IMG, although the company will continue to provide production services for the likes of the English Football League (EFL), Major League Soccer (MLS), the Saudi Pro League and EuroLeague basketball competition. 

PA Media contributed to this report.