The Premier League is at the "whim of broadcasters," which is a "dangerous" place to be, according to Simon Jordan, the former owner of EPL side Crystal Palace. Jordan said that the rise in the financial fortunes of the EPL in recent years could become unstuck because football "doesn't row its own boat" and was at the mercy of Sky and BT, which paid over £5B in '15 for the domestic TV rights to EPL matches. He said, "Don't get me wrong, let's be clear, football has been made by Sky and latterly by BT taking it to a dimension that puts it in the world of show business. But by the same token, there are challenges where football does not run its own business because if broadcasters do change their tune, and they do want to pull back on financing, you are going to find this Warren Buffett moment where the tide goes out and you're going to see who is wearing shorts."
TOO MUCH?: Speaking on a panel, Jordan also found himself at odds with another panel member over his views on how many Premier League and global games should be broadcast. Jordan, who left Crystal Palace in '10 after the club went into administration, said, "I think there should be more football. I think every game can be live. I think every game around the world can be live." But BT Sport Head Simon Green said that such blanket coverage could prove counterproductive. "One of the things that I am not so sure about is broadcasting every game in this country, because there is that danger of saturation," Green said. He argued that the diversity of the Premier League was one of its great virtues and this might be undone if fans only watched their own teams.
NEW GENERATION: Green also cautioned that the next generation of football fans might not want to sit down and watch a 90-minute football match through broadcast media. "My experience is that the next generation don't have the same willingness to sit down and watch 90 minutes of football," he said. Green said the challenge for broadcasters was to meet the desires of the new generation. Jordan and Green were on a panel along with Tottenham Exec Dir Donna-Maria Cullen and former EPL Head of Supporter Services Cathy Long on Tuesday at the Telegraph Business of Sport 2017. Cullen said that Tottenham's deal with the NFL, which will see the club hosting fixtures in its new stadium, would be a massive benefit to the local area and bring a whole new audience to the stadium.
John Reynolds is a writer in London.
