Premier League clubs dominated the Deloitte Football Money League despite a fall in broadcast revenues, and they won’t loosen their grip anytime soon.
Treble winners Manchester City generated the most revenue in the 2021/22 season at €731mln, followed by Real Madrid in second and Liverpool in third with €701mln.
Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal also featured in the top 10, with West Ham, Leicester, Leeds, Everton and Newcastle making the top 20.
England’s dominance in Europe and in the boardroom came despite an 11% slip in broadcast income due to deferrals of revenue in the Covid postponed 2019/20 season, which was recognised in the 2020/21 season, not being repeated.
Broadcast revenue was the main source of income for most English clubs, excluding Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham, and made up a much larger proportion of total income further down the table.
Commercial income was the main source of cash for the three above-mentioned clubs, which was attributed to new partnerships and non-matchday events (City’s Etihad Stadium regularly has concerts while Tottenham’s shiny new ground hosts American football a couple of times a year).
England to stay on top
Deloitte predicts the Premier League to remain dominant, at least in the short term, thanks to TV money.
The Premier League recently commenced a new broadcast cycle with international streamers, which will add an extra €422mln each season for the three seasons up to the end of 2024/25.
In the current three-year cycle to 2024/25, Premier League clubs are expected to earn around £10bn, according to the website SportsPro, which cites The Times.
That is just over £3.3bn a year split between 20 clubs.
In comparison, Spain’s top division, La Liga, earns the second most in broadcast revenue across Europe, making £1.2bn in the 2021/22 season. In the same period, the Premier League raked in £2.6bn.
Sports broadcasting rights are a hot topic in English football.
Games in England adhere to a 3pm Saturday blackout, meaning fixtures played at that time aren’t available to watch on the telly.
That leaves a few broadcast slots for a few broadcasters.
Sky dominated for years before BT’s arrival, even though it was still only able to capture one game a week.
Recently, Amazon has snapped up 20 games in the year and streams all matches across two matchdays, although these are often played midweek.
That means customers must fork out hundreds of pounds a year for three broadcasters to watch around 200 of the 760 games available.
Fans, ultimately, are left frustrated, with all games shown to viewers across the globe at a snippet of what is paid in the country where the fixtures are played.
Of course, this has given rise to illegal streamers, with hefty punishments handed out to those found operating sites.
Many suggestions have been put forward to amend this, including an NBA-style service, where customers pay the league directly to watch as many games as they choose.
However, while vast sums of cash continue to fill hungry pockets of American consortiums and Gulf states, there is unlikely to be any breakthrough in a streaming service for all anytime soon.