One of the world's poorest countries, Burma, "where workers earn an average of just £819 ($1,300) a year, has splashed out £25M ($40M) to buy the rights to show Premier League football on television," according to the London DAILY MAIL. With Burma's current TV contract "worth a mere £200,000 ($320,000) over three years, the new deal represents an astonishing 12,400% hike in rights fees." The deal, involving pay-TV company Sky Net, "is just one example of the extraordinarily successful way" the Premier League has sold its worldwide broadcasting rights for '13-16.

Overseas deals for '13-16 "will surge past £2B ($3.2B) in value, which, when added to domestic deals for live rights (£3B ($4.8B) from Sky and BT), Match of the Day highlights (£178M ($285M) from the BBC) and near-live rights and Internet rights (still to be sold), means the league will earn a mouthwatering £5.5B ($8.8B) from broadcasting during that three-season period." When the new deals kick in next season, even the club that ends up at the bottom of the EPL in '14 "will receive a £60M ($96M) payout from the TV money, while the champions pocket £100 ($160M)." While the Premier League currently pulls in £479M ($768M) a year from overseas broadcasting, La Liga gets £132M ($212M), Serie A £74M ($119M) and the Bundesliga just £50M ($80M) (DAILY MAIL, 11/24).

Premier League Rights
Country	'10-13	'13-16	Increase in %
U.S.	£42M	£157M	273.8%
Americas	£20M	£80M	280.9%
Sub-Saharan Africa	£170M	£205M	20.5%
Scandinavia	£111M	£160M	44.1%
China	£31M	£38M*	22.5%
India	£28M	£91M	225%
Singapore	£190M	£190M	NIL
Hong Kong	£146M	£146M	NIL
South Korea	£30M	£32M	6.6%
Japan	£22M	£30M	36%
Thailand	£38M	£202M	432%
Vietnam	£6M	£22M	267%
Burma	£200,000	£25M	12,400%
Indonesia	£25M	£50M	100%
Malaysia	£65M	£139M	114%
*First three years of a six-year deal.
Still to be negotiated: Middle East and North Africa as one package. It was worth £225M for '10-13 and is expected to raise a similar amount for '13-16.

Print | Tags: Media, United Kingdom

Broadcaster Fox Sports has signed a three-year broadcast deal with the Premier League, "gaining coverage of every match until '16," according to Darren Davidson of THE AUSTRALIAN. The contract runs from '13 to '16 and is "believed to be worth" more than the estimated A$28M ($29.3M) Fox Sports paid for its existing three-year deal with the EPL. Fox Sports CEO Patrick Delany said that Foxtel subscribers "would be able to watch any game live on their iPhone or iPad via its dedicated Premier League app and the recently launched Foxtel Go app." The extension will take Fox Sports to 20 years as the EPL's Australian provider (THE AUSTRALIAN, 11/26). 

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German free-to-air TV channel kabel eins "reacted to low ratings of its first Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) game broadcast and postponed its next live broadcast to '13," according to the DPA. The game between Bayern Munich and Telekom Baskets Bonn "will be live broadcast online at www.ran.de on Dec. 9 and only air as 'previously recorded' on TV." Kabel eins spokesperson Daniela Allgayer-Koreimann said, "The viewers didn't adopt to the new sport basketball on kabel eins as previously hoped." The channel's broadcast of the game between defending champion Brose Baskets Bamberg and Bayern Munich "attracted an average of 250,000 viewers, which equaled a market share of 1.5%." In the target demographic 14-49, the game was watched by 130,000 viewers or 1.8%. Kabel eins "expected market shares between 5.6-5.7%." The next live BBL game on kabel eins "will be the match-up between Bayern Munich and Alba Berlin on Feb. 10" (DPA, 11/23). 

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