English Soccer's Global Reach Scores Big

The lucrative Premiership's international stars make for marketing opportunities the world over, and the EPL is even gaining fast on the NFL

by Mark Scott

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Every weekend from now until next May, teams from the English Premier League (EPL) will battle it out in arguably the world's most competitive soccer championship. Across Britain, fans will flood into local pubs to down a few pints while hoping to catch a moment of brilliance from their favorite superstars, such as Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United or Didier Drogba of Chelsea FC.

What's surprising, though, is that this scene—minus, perhaps, the authentic British pub—is replicated week in and week out all over the world, from Texas to Thailand. The global appeal of England's "Premiership," coupled with lucrative global broadcasting agreements, has made the EPL an economic juggernaut. Already outstripping other European soccer leagues in revenues and viewership, the Premiership is now gaining on America's National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) by capitalizing on soccer's place as the world's favorite sport.

Since its inaugural season back in 1992, the EPL has grown from a minnow into a whale. According to Deloitte Consulting, the Premiership's total revenue this season from TV rights, ticket sales, and merchandising should top $3.6 billion—up tenfold since its first season 16 years ago. That far exceeds its nearest rival, the German Bundesliga, which is expected to pull in just over $2 billion this year.

"The Premiership really has gone from strength to strength," says Pete Hackleton, London-based senior manager at Deloitte's Sports Business Group. "Increasing broadcasting revenue has been the major reason for the league's success."

Team Spirit

One advantage the Premiership enjoys over other European soccer leagues is that it negotiates broadcasting agreements collectively. (Elsewhere, TV deals are usually agreed on a club-by-club basis.) That has given the EPL greater clout in dealing with the likes of News Corp. (NWS) units Fox Sports and British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) (BSY). The Premiership recently struck a three-year, $2.6 billion deal with BSkyB, as well as a separate $730 million agreement with Irish broadcaster Setanta. Other deals around the world account for a quarter of the league's roughly $1.8 billion in annual broadcasting revenues. All told, EPL games are available to 600 million homes in 202 countries.

While the EPL still doesn't match the NFL's annual $3.7 billion haul from broadcasting rights alone, soccer's global appeal likely gives the Premiership more room for growth. Currently, the EPL's overseas TV rights equate to a mere 16¢ per viewer, compared with $2.60 in Britain. That affords plenty of opportunity to increase broadcast revenues—especially in Asia. The traditional early afternoon start for English games falls during prime time viewing hours in many soccer-mad Asian nations.

"The time works out great for Asia, which is by far the largest potential market compared with Africa and the Americas," says Deloitte's Hackleton.

Foreign Investment

The potential for lucrative TV deals also has attracted foreign investors who have shelled out millions for some of the EPL's highest-profile clubs. The best known is Russian billionaire and tabloid favorite Roman Abramo­vich, who bought London's Chelsea FC in 2003.