The EPL "will pay out record sums in TV money this season with the bottom club guaranteed at least" $60.5M (all figures U.S.) and the league champion earning more than $93M, according to Martyn Ziegler of the London INDEPENDENT. The EPL's new overseas TV deals "will see top-flight clubs earning on average nearly" $8.2M per year more than last season. The league "has never confirmed the overall value of its overseas rights," but they have doubled from about $1B from '07-10 to around $1.96B "over the next three seasons." That is "about 10 times the amount Germany's Bundesliga receives for foreign TV rights, five times what Italy receives and three times the amount Spain's La Liga earns." Ziegler notes the EPL "has the most equitable distribution of the major European leagues with the smallest difference between the champions and the bottom club in terms of the split of TV money" (London INDEPENDENT, 5/10).
JULY, JULY: SPORTSPROMEDIA.com's Chris Dickens reported ESPN's U.K. channel has "snatched British rights to two July soccer tournaments away from domestic pay television giants Sky." The Copa America and Emirates Cup "will be shown on the ESPN UK channel, both having been staples of Sky Sports' output during previous British summers." Sky Sports "has held television rights to every edition of the Emirates Cup, a four-team friendly tournament played at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium," since its inception in '07. The Copa America "has been a fixture on Sky Sports since 1997" (SPORTSPROMEDIA.com, 5/9).
FRIEND OF THE DEVILS: In London, Sam Wallace reports Sky Sports officials are "hopeful their new signing," former Manchester United D Gary Neville, "can start his job early to be at Wembley as co-commentator" for the May 28 Barcelona-Manchester United UEFA Champions League Final. Having Neville work the game "would be a huge coup for Sky who would be able to call upon the insight of a man who knows as well as anyone what makes United tick." Wallace notes Neville was due to make his Sky debut next season, but he "could start as early as Saturday" when ManU has the "chance to wrap up" a record 19th EPL title by earning at least a tie against Blackburn (London TELEGRAPH, 5/10).
INCREASED VISIBILITY: MARKETING magazine's John Reynolds reports UEFA has "hired branding agency Lambie-Nairn to 'extend the visibility' of its Euro 2012 competition and attract viewers from rival entertainment channels, such as those dedicated to gaming." Lambie-Nairn will design UEFA's "opening, closing and advertising bumper sequences, along with on-screen match graphics shown in the tournament." It also will "adapt the Euro 2012 logo" (MARKETINGMAGAZINE.co.uk, 5/10).
