The Premier League is a financial juggernaut unmatched in the world of football. In terms of the money brought in from broadcast deals and the amount of viewers it attracts, no other domestic league can come close.
Richard Scudamore left his position as Executive Chairman of the Premier League at the end of last year, bringing to an end an almost 20-year association with the league. He was the one who helped transform the English top flight to what it currently is today, negotiating a number of record breaking broadcast deals.
He was set to be replaced by Susanna Dinnage, but the broadcast expert pulled out the deal just before the turn of the year. That has left the Premier League in a difficult position, as they seek to find the right person to bring the division forward during a period of change in broadcasting. An outstanding candidate has yet to emerge, but recruiting someone associated with a background in broadcasting is the top priority.
Speaking on talkSPORT, former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan said that this is a job opportunity that you would be foolish to pass up, and he feels whoever takes over next should attempt to turn the Premier League into the 'Netflix of football'.
“PL should be the Netflix of football. 100m subscribers at £8 is 10bn.”
“Why is Buck, who’s got an interest in Chelsea, deciding who gets the job?”
Must listen from @SJOpinion10 on the Premier League, TV and its future 👏 pic.twitter.com/eIfVFiHRKK— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 6, 2019
I've spoken about the Premier League becoming the Netflix of football, i.e. a video on demand platform that controls its own product.
Guess what Netflix does? It doesn't have its own content, well it's starting to get its own content, but it buys everybody else's content. Guess what the Premier League's got? Its own content.
If you had 100m subscribers on 'Premier League TV', like you've got on Netflix, at £8 per-month, you're bringing in £10billion per-year, not £8.7billion every three years as the current deal does.
This is the most exciting, exhilarating job that you could have in sports and why someone doesn't want it is beyond me...
This is certainly an interesting idea from Jordan, although he certainly simplified the process that would be involved in setting up such a service. While many football fans would be willing to pay a fee like the one mentioned, bringing in 100m people does seem like a bit of a stretch.
There is also the added costs associated with such a move, such as hiring a vast amount of extra staff (including tv presenters and pundits) and establishing the sort of infrastructure that would allow for such a massive operation.
There are some models the Premier League could follow, however. Jordan mentions the NFL, but the NBA already has a very similar service. NBA League Pass is an annual subscription service that allows basketball fans to watch any of the league's games online. There is also other purchase options, such as a single team pass. That is an option the Premier League could choose to replicate, although it is worth mentioning that the NBA also has other deals with traditional broadcasters, which where the most viewers come from.
With the landscape of the broadcasting world shifting dramatically, this is certainly an interesting concept that may not be too far from reality in some form or another.
