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The Premier League is set to revise the way it sells TV rights in the UK, with plans to extend deals to four years and scrap the so-called “Amazon” of small games in favor of fewer, larger packages to drive revenue.
The upcoming auction represents a major test for the Premier League and chief executive Richard Masters. The UK government has allowed leagues and their broadcasters to postpone previous deals during the pandemic, meaning the rights price has yet to be determined since the £5bn rights deal from 2019-22.
Premier League officials are finalizing the terms of the auction process, but the deal could be extended to four years, breaking the established three-year cycle, club and broadcaster executives said.
The move comes in response to feedback from broadcasters that current terms make ownership of games riskier, with the frequency of auctions leaving less time to invest in production and broadcast elements. In the United States, long-term deals of up to six or ten years are not uncommon.
The number of games auctioned could also be significantly increased from the current 200, with games stretching from Friday to Monday, including early Saturday games, people familiar with the matter said.
However, Sunday night’s overtime game is unlikely to go ahead, according to broadcast executives and a person familiar with the league’s plans.
Officials are also working on an auction structure with fewer than the current seven lots, according to people familiar with their thinking.
Broadcaster executives expect the number of packages to drop to five, but sources close to the Premier League say no final decisions have been made on any aspect of the auction.
The Premier League declined to comment.
Crucially, the reduction will remove smaller bundles of 20 games designed to attract tech and streaming companies to the 2018 auction, allowing Amazon to showcase games on key dates such as Christmas and retail sales days.
If Amazon wanted to, it would have to raise its bid to get a bigger package that would make it a more established sports channel, rather than using the games as a marketing tool for its retail service customers.
The auction will begin in the coming weeks, with Sky, DAZN and TNT Sports (jointly owned by BT and Warner Bros. Discovery) expected to bid, according to broadcaster executives.
It is hoped that possible changes will allow Premier League chiefs to auction broadcast rights for more money, with more games played over a longer period of time potentially yielding higher prices, even if the cost per game falls.
Analysts expect bidders to be constrained by their own need to cut costs given tough conditions in the TV market, while consumers also want to tighten their belts.
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