The concept of a Premier League streaming platform, often referred to as the 'Netflix of Football' or 'Premflix', which could potentially increase club revenues and reduce costs for fans, has taken a significant step forward.
Last Friday's meeting of Premier League shareholders may have seemed dominated by the vote on changes to rules on associated party transactions; the latest skirmish in an ongoing regulatory war with Manchester City. However, another decision made during this meeting, although less publicised, could prove to be a game-changer in how the world's most-watched league is viewed globally.
This decision was to end a two-decade-long partnership with IMG, through which 6,000 hours of content per season, including live coverage of all 380 matches and magazine shows, are produced for 55 international broadcast partners in 189 markets outside the UK.
Instead, Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to bring all production and distribution of media content for international markets in-house from 2026. This move is significant as it could potentially pave the way for the Premier League to launch its own direct-to-consumer streaming platform, previously referred to as a "Netflix of Football" or "Premflix".
The NFL and NBA have already pioneered their own versions of this, with the NFL Game Pass and NBA League Pass. It's a trend that Europe often follows when it comes to the more commercially mature US sports market.
Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight commented: "In the first instance it feels like taking back ownership and control under one umbrella. This then in turn opens up new opportunities of distributing that content in different ways to existing and new viewers around the world.
"The direction of travel is clear as the adoption of connected devices continues to grow; we are all now streaming some form of television at any time and anywhere thanks to the internet via fibre or mobile networks."
Premflix 'a nice tool but not TV substitute'
The benefits for the Premier League of a direct-to-consumer platform could be numerous. Not only would it increase reach, being available to anyone with a device, but it could also gather customer data and potentially multiply revenue significantly.
A 2020 academic paper on the concept suggested that if the approximately 200 million people who currently subscribe to pay TV channels to watch the Premier League paid £10 a month for a dedicated streaming service, annual media rights income could skyrocket from £3.5bn to £24bn.
While this may seem like a far-fetched scenario and doesn't factor in the costs of creating the content, the platform to display it, and marketing expenses it does highlight the potential financial gains for the right product.
Francois Godard of Enders Analysis has weighed in on the Premier League's media strategy, suggesting that while taking over international media rights sales "may be a clever move" given their value now surpasses domestic rights, partnerships with broadcasters remain essential. He remarked: "I don't see D2C [direct to consumer] as the future of football. Maybe it's an option you can use in certain markets," to get better deals from media companies.
Godard also pointed out a significant trend in US sports: long-term relationships between leagues and broadcasters, which incentivise the latter to promote the former. He doesn't view direct-to-consumer platforms for the NFL and NBA as replacements for broadcaster sales, stating: "I don't believe the NFL and NBA D2C platforms are a substitute for sales to broadcasters. They are a nice tool and a way to reach core fans."