Barclays Agrees To Three-Year Extension Of EPL Title Sponsorship

The EPL has agreed to a new three-year deal with Barclays, keeping the financial institution as the global title sponsor of the league through '16. The deal has a value of $61.69M (all figures U.S.) a season to the EPL, and begins with the '13-14 season. The agreement includes the global title sponsorship of the EPL and exclusive worldwide marketing rights, U.K. and int'l TV program accreditation, advertising rights, match day tickets and hospitality, and joint community activity (EPL). In London, Rory Smith notes the $185.1M contract "represents a significant improvement on the present arrangement, under which the bank pays" $42.4M a season. The raise comes "just a month after the Premier League secured a 70 per cent increase in the value of its domestic television rights deal." The new deal "makes Barclays' arrangement with the Premier League by far the most lucrative in Europe" (LONDON TIMES, 7/13). The AP's Rob Harris noted Barclays has "held naming rights to the world's richest soccer league since 2001" (AP, 7/12).