International media rights are sold collectively by the Premier League, but Liverpool FC has expressed interest in taking control of those rights, particularly in Asia where the club is very popular. Fenway Sports Group (FSG) chairman Tom Werner told the Financial Times, ‘We certainly want to increase awareness [of the club] in Asia … if we can’t do that by transmitting the matches live, we still want to appeal to our fans there.’
International media rights are sold collectively by the Premier League, but Liverpool FC has expressed interest in taking control of those rights, particularly in Asia where the club is very popular. Fenway Sports Group (FSG) chairman Tom Werner told the Financial Times, ‘We certainly want to increase awareness [of the club] in Asia … if we can’t do that by transmitting the matches live, we still want to appeal to our fans there.’
Liverpool is one of several sports properties run by FSG. The company aims to use is brands to support the expansion of other assets in new markets. They are keen on ‘two-way leverage’, cross-selling one deal to a brand that already has a relationship with a FSG company.
The group has already used this strategy to strike a kit deal between Liverpool and Warrior Sports, part of the Boston-based New Balance group. It has been suggested that it will be worth £300m over six years, making it the largest such deal in the Premier League.
Mr Werner told the Pink ‘Un that football’s appeal extends into markets beyond the reach of US sports: ‘In the US 110m people watch the Super Bowl … But we are told that 150m people will watch every [?] game of Euro 2012 … the global power of soccer is just incredible.’