Football rights economics: Low broadcasting competition underpins bear market
- Publisher Enders Analysis.
- Publish Date January 8, 2021
- Sector Broadband, Broadcast TV, Media, Non-UK Media, Sky, Sports, UK Media.
- Company

- Beyond the short-term impact of the COVID crisis, the value of football rights in Europe is heading down
- Lower competitive intensity in the broadcasting market is the main reason, and looks unlikely to be reversed
- The leagues must consider long-term initiatives to broaden demand—cash fixes risk worsening their structural problems
Contents
Summary
2020, annus horribilis
UK: The cordial duopoly
Germany: Sky reallocates resources
Italy: Sky following the German path
Spain: No alternative to TelefĂłnica
France: Apocalypse now
No space for new entrants
The revolving door of unprofitable new entrants
Resilience of the generalist model of pay-TV
Retail prices inflation points to a ceiling
Football rights are still very expensive
Higher competitiveness makes the US different
The US is different: rights are still rising
Tech giants will not rescue football
Should leagues go direct to consumers?
Private Equity: short-term cash or long-term governance?
Outlook
List of charts/tables
Broadcasting rights* from top five markets, €m per season
 UK: Broadcasting rights value (£m per year)
Germany: broadcasting rights (€m per year)
Italy: broadcasting rights (€m per year)
Spain: broadcasting rights (€m per year)
UK: Sky Sports price rises faster than retail prices (2000 = 100)*
UK: supply cost per subscriber per month (ÂŁ)
Football rights costs per subscriber per month (€)
Top 100 US network TV broadcasts by number of viewers
Major League Baseball licensing deals
ESPN affiliate fees vs viewership (2019 vs 2010)
Premier League UK rights value vs digital giants’ UK video revenues (2019, £m)
NBA app homepage
mlb.tv homepage