Premier League - Liverpool want bigger share of TV money

Wed, 12 Oct 01:42:00 2011

Liverpool reportedly want a larger share of the overseas TV rights money currently negotiated collectively by the Premier League on behalf of the clubs and have raised the prospect of negotiating their own deal.

Anfield - 0

Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre was quoted in The Guardian saying the break-up of the established broadcasting deal for English top flight clubs is "a debate that has to happen" with the Anfield club favouring the Spanish model.

The £1.4 billion international rights deal covering the 2010-13 period is shared equally between all the Premier League clubs. In Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid negotiate their own individual TV contracts.

The Guardian said Ayre believes the Premier League's four biggest global draws - Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal - deserve an increased share of overseas TV revenue from 2013 to match their global popularity.

"Personally I think the game-changer is going out and recognising our brand globally," said Ayre. "Maybe the path will be individual TV rights like they do in Spain. There are so many things moving in that particular area.

"What is absolutely certain is that, with the greatest of respect to our colleagues in the Premier League, but if you're a Bolton fan in Bolton, then you subscribe to Sky because you want to watch Bolton. Everyone gets that. Likewise, if you're a Liverpool fan from Liverpool, you subscribe.

"But if you're in Kuala Lumpur there isn't anyone subscribing to Astro, or ESPN to watch Bolton, or if they are it's a very small number. Whereas the large majority are subscribing because they want to watch Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal.

"So is it right that the international rights are shared equally between all the clubs?" added Ayre whose club, along with all the others in the Premier league, last season received £17.9 million each from the overseas TV deal.

"Some people will say: 'Well you've got to all be in it to make it happen.' But isn't it really about where the revenue is coming from, which is the broadcaster, and isn't it really about who people want to watch on that channel?

"We know it is us. And others. At some point we definitely feel there has to be some rebalance on that, because what we are actually doing is disadvantaging ourselves against other big European clubs," Ayre was quoted as saying.

"If Real Madrid or Barcelona or other big European clubs have the opportunity to truly realise their international media value potential, where does that leave Liverpool and Manchester United?" he added.

"We'll just share ours because we'll all be nice to each other? The whole phenomenon of the Premier League could be threatened.

"If they just get bigger and bigger and they generate more and more, then all the players will start drifting that way and will the Premier League bubble burst because we are sticking to this equal-sharing model? It's a real debate that has to happen.

Any change to the current collective TV arrangement - the so-called Founder Members' Agreement - would require a proposal to be put before the Premier League and 14 of the 20 clubs voting in favour of a new commercial arrangement.

Liverpool plan to raise the issue at the next Premier League meeting, British media reported.

The Season So Far

Reuters

Comment 138 - 157 of 157

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  1. This strikes me as a very selfish approach to football­ but obviously not from an economic point of view.­ Therein lies the nub of the problem. As an example,­ Liverpool were in the 2nd division when Shankley began­ his transformation process. If economics had decided­ who would get money then, where Liverpool now? If­ economics alone are allowed to dictate what the­ football public want to see, giant killing local­ derbies, passionate football, then we may all pack up­ and go home. Corporate wins, we lose

    From PETER, on Thu 1 Mar 0:01

  2. So, after a period of...how many years?? of nOT winning­ anything, you suddenly beat a smaller club, albeit on­ penalties and now you are the 'Big I Am'.­ Please sir, can I have some more.
    Your pathetic and­ Shanks would be disgusted.

    From Robbie, on Wed 29 Feb 21:09

  3. It might sound good for Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and­ Manchester United. However these teams need oppenents­ every week, and this is where the Boltons, and West­ Broms and such other teams come in. The four big­ teams cannot play each other every week can they. So­ the teams they play are entitled to the same fees as­ they get.

    From odice7, on Wed 29 Feb 6:49

  4. What a tool, who does he think these people would be­ watching if Liverpool are playing Bolton? What we can­ do then is let this happen then as the opposition not­ fulfil the fixutre. The people abroad can watch­ Liverpool players stand with their thumb up their arse­ and play no-one at all.

    From Crisis, on Wed 29 Feb 3:33

  5. I live in Jamaica, pay sky and its awesome.
    the­­ commentators are in icelandic on both fox and espn for­­ the EPL and when I hit the Aussie button on my fancy­­ control.....?nothing same old Icelandic­­ gooooooooooooooooooool garbage!
    Put the NFL on and­­ oh...Jewish commentators for an Ethiopean­­ sport...wow
    whats up with that. F.A. and Sun...how­­ about sorting out the basics and let people eat what­­ they want.
    EPL 24 hr station/network around the­ world,­ profits split equally between the big 4 and no money­ for anyone else.

    From geoff, on Fri 14 Oct 18:57

  6. I live in mexico, pay sky and its rubbish.
    the­ commentators are in spanish on both fox and espn for­ the EPL and when I hit the english button on my fancy­ control.....?nothing same old spanish­ gooooooooooooooooooool garbage!
    Put the NFL on and­ oh...american commentators for an american­ sport...wow
    whats up with that. F.A. and sky...how­ about sorting out the basics and let people choose what­ they want.
    EPL 24 hr station/network around the­ world,profits split equally and then the clubs sell­ there individual games abroad.

    From Adam, on Thu 13 Oct 22:29

  7. let clubs sell there individule games on the intenet on­ matchday.

    From Adam, on Thu 13 Oct 22:15

  8. #122 Whats a TRADITIONAL top four?You mean you would­ like us to include LFC because they cant achieve it on­ merit?Still livin in the past.

    From 8472, on Thu 13 Oct 19:35

  9. I live under the sea and without the individual deal my­ company gets with Liverpool and Man Utd there's no­ way we'd get a signal. I blame the trains south of­ here but it could be the annual currents which get­ bad after 3 am on weekdays and Mondays especially so­ usually cannot get the game on Monday evening and would­ like to only get games on the weekend as in the week I­ do yoga

    From geoff, on Thu 13 Oct 11:11

  10. Totally agree with AJay, l work in China and have been­ a Man U suporter since as a yo, ung boy l followed the­ Munich air crash, l grew up watching the likes of­ Charlton, Law,Best , so its true to say l love watching­ attractive free flowing football, l watch as much­ football as l can either on ESPN Star sports, or on my­ computer,l do not just want to watch Man U !!!!! and l­ am certain the majority of TRUE FOOTBALL supporters­ would agree with ajay and myself that it would be a sad­ day if this were allowed to happen

    From Terry, on Thu 13 Oct 9:19

  11. I'm a Liverpool fan living in Australia. I've­ been living in exile for 47 years and been a fan of LFC­ for the last 40 of those years - and still­ counting.
    I'm interested in the number of comments­ basically saying "no one outside of GB subscribes­ to pay tv to watch the likes of Bolton or Wigan."­ I wonder how many of those comments are being made by­ GB residents.
    I for one subscribe to Foxtel solely­ because of the PL coverage (Nat Geo, UKTV and 13ST are­ bonus extras) and watch as many PL games as I can every­ weekend and week mornings, too. Plus all of the ECL­ games, even when my team isn't involved as is the­ case again this season. If I only had the choice of­ watching the so-called "top four" PL teams­ and maybe only them plus Barca and Real in the ECL play­ then I would seriously have to reconsider my­ subscription.
    At the end of the day I am a FOOTBALL fan­ and watch as much good (ie PL and ECL) football as I­ can. I would hate to end up with a league that only had­ 2 teams with enough money capable of buying top players­ to ensure their chances of finishing top two every­ season. The money that allows teams like Stoke, Wolves­ and even Bolton to really compete with the­ "top" teams is what makes the PL so appealing­ to everyone world wide.
    I know I certainly­ wouldn't be subscribing to pay tv just to watch La­ Liga!

    From ajay, on Thu 13 Oct 7:19

  12. next they will want a share off the champions league­ money because they have won it 5 times

    From skoal.bandit,,, on Thu 13 Oct 4:55

  13. @ misterb, The SIMPLE fact is that you didn't read­ the article properly. Read the article again and it­ says we're in the top top four from the EPL, as in­ most followed in Asia and other international countries­ NOT a top four club in the EPL!
    @ Jack T, As for­ desperate to win the league, we're not the club in­ debt and we have an open chequebook for the right­ players, plus we have said more than once that this is­ a long term thing and that we do not expect instant­ success. So please, if people are going to have a go­ get the facts right first!

    From ALED, on Thu 13 Oct 0:32

  14. P, whether they agree or not (though I doubt a­ reputable businessman would in fact mention anyone else­ if discussions hadn't taken place about the issue­ considering our club's stance on respect) he still­ mentioned Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal. I am sure they­ will distance themselves but it doesn't mean they­ don't agree. After all football is a business and­ with some clubs debts spiralling out of control then­ they have to look at every moneymaking avenue open to­ them.

    I personally do not agree with what my­ club's chairman proposes but I can see his point.­ We are more popular, we do generate a lot more in­ revenue to the tv companies than Bolton etc but we­ should be improving the quality of shows and making­ deals through LFCTV as the Red Sox do with NESN and­ not trying to take money off other clubs. We have our­ own tv channel so why can't we use it to our full­ advantage rather than trying to wind people up?!

    From ALED, on Thu 13 Oct 0:25
  15. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    The simple FACT here is that Liverpool are NOT a top 4­ club anymore. Just like their fan's they are living­ in the past and are DELUDED. I know this hurts but­ it's the TRUTH.

    From misterb, on Thu 13 Oct 0:13

  16. All 20 teams would have to agree so it's a no go­ from the start. Why would anyone wnat the Premier­ League to end up like the Spanish League where Barca­ and Real take a 3rd of all the cash and leave the other­ teams to share the rest. Looks like Liverpool are­ desperate to win the league again after all these years­ so they'll try anything! Pathetic. I'd like to­ think most Liverpool fans wouldn't want this. Again­ it's another case of brainless idiots running and­ ruining football

    From Jack T, on Thu 13 Oct 0:05

  17. The point is they dont want a bigger share.....another­ entirely misleading headline. The point is they want to­ break away from the collective deal and their share of­ it and establish their own tv deal. Its funny all the­ people having a rant are the people not in a strong­ enough bargaining position to secure a similar­ deal....Cant really see how being massively supported­ is Liverpools fault. That support didnt just happen it­ was built up through tours, promotions etc which all­ cost money. I tell you what we will set up a channel­ and people can subscribe. The fact that 90% of those­ subscribers only want to watch one or two teams­ (essentially the reason for subscribing) is irrelevant­ we will dish the money out equally.......if youre one­ of those two or three teams what is wrong with wanting­ to cut your own deal and gain the money that people are­ willing to pay to watch you exclusively. Whelan is a­ decent bloke but he is just having a bit of a moan­ because hes not in that position.

    From jason, on Thu 13 Oct 0:05

  18. only an idiot would watch liverpool they are rubbish,­ how come they think they are a big club..........­ hasbeens if you ask me!

    From Keith, on Wed 12 Oct 23:26

  19. liverpool fc not working class like the supporters this­ can not happen this will end up as a big step to euro­ league then how many of us fans will be able to afford­ it not many?

    From pottercampbell, on Wed 12 Oct 23:03

  20. So none of the other clubs have thought of this ? ­ wake up! The 2 Manchester clubs Arsenal ,Spurs Chelsea­ will all do this .All you just having a go at Liverpool­ get of your crosses I need the wood.And I don't­ follow football .

    From KATRINA BERRY, on Wed 12 Oct 22:31
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