The Premier League resumes this Friday, with bottom club Wolves seeking a late push to avoid relegation. They have just 10 points from 28 games and host third-place Aston Villa, who aim to maintain their strong form and secure European football.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal lead the table with 61 points, five ahead of second-place Manchester City, who have a game in hand. This weekend promises key clashes as teams fight for positions ahead of kick-off.
The Premier League is, however, set to launch its own streaming service, “Premflix,” for viewers in Singapore, with potential global expansion if successful, according to The Times.
Premier League Plus will offer live matches and other exclusive content directly, bypassing traditional broadcasters. Analysts see the platform as a potential new driver of international broadcast revenue.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters announced the launch at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London and confirmed it could expand to other regions.
Masters said: “We have created a direct-to-consumer service from next season onwards — Premier League Plus rather than Premflix — and for the first time, the Premier League is going to have its own customers and deal with promotions, pricing, churn, distribution.
“We are looking to build a business, but also looking to learn how that might be replicated all around the world. This is a new app you can download and have on your smart TVs, your laptops, and watch 380 matches and loads of shoulder content, 24-7 channel service and it’s going to be an exciting product.”
Masters confirmed that the new platform will launch in partnership with StarHub, which holds Premier League broadcast rights in Singapore under a six-year deal.
Meanwhile, English football’s new regulator has warned that time is running out for a financial agreement between the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL). David Kogan, chairman of the Independent Football Regulator, said many clubs could survive no longer than a month if owners withdrew funding, and for several, relegation would be a “near death sentence.”
All previous attempts to agree on the Premier League’s distribution to EFL clubs have failed. Kogan confirmed that the regulator, established under the Football Governance Act 2025, would use its powers to enforce a settlement if necessary.
“We have real powers to intervene if football cannot reach agreement, the so-called backstop clause,” Kogan told the FT Summit. “I have to tell you, however, as somebody who’s been involved in football since 1999, it would be an utter failure by football not to seize the moment and get over the stasis that currently exists.”
Kogan said the regulator’s powers to enforce financial sustainability could help curb inflationary spending on players and reduce the pressure on clubs to risk their long-term future for short-term success.
He added: “The current system builds in risk. Some of the insights we’re already getting from clubs are beginning to show us this. Multiple clubs throughout the pyramid have told us they would not be able to survive a month if their owners pulled funding.
“We know that players’ wages have been rocketed in the Premier League, but it’s also happening across the whole of the pyramid. In League Two, for example, player costs have doubled in the last three to four years. Owners in League One and League Two are critically worried about how on earth they’re going to be continuing to finance this arms race.
“Relegation for many is a near-death sentence. Clubs facing relegation could see their revenues cut by up to 80 per cent if they fail to bounce back quickly.
“The whole pyramid is facing a series of cliff edges that people talk about, but they have not been addressed. And without better financial mitigation, this is ultimately entirely unsustainable.”
The previous agreement between the EFL and Premier League was made in 2019. The EFL is now seeking 25% of the top flight’s earnings to be shared across the rest of the football pyramid.
The Premier League says it has distributed £1.6 billion across English football over the past three years, including more than £600 million in parachute payments to relegated clubs.
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