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The Premier League has had increasing success in recent years in selling its television rights overseas, particularly in Asian markets. Eventually the income received from viewers outside the UK will exceed the domestic revenue.
This trend is highlighted by the news that over $400m has been paid for the Premier League rights for Hong Kong. LeTV have offered to pay more than double the $US200m paid by the previous rights holders.
The cost of away tickets for Premier League fans has been a constant source of complaint. Many fans feel with some justification that they have been priced out of following their team away, particularly when one factors in the cost of travel.
Is it better to have plenty of money in the bank or use that money to enhance performance on the pitch? That is the eternal dilemma at Arsenal and it is one that continues to exasperate the clubs’ fans. One comment after the latest financial results was that they had produced at least one good result this week.
If Coventry City want to build a new stadium to get away from the Ricoh Arena, they need to have their plans in place by December. That is when the Local Plan is expected to be completed and once that it is done it will be more difficult to get permission to build on Green Belt land, as is likely to be needed.
The information commissioner has ruled that the details of the contract under which West Ham United were made anchor tenants at the Olympic Stadium should be revealed. This represents a victory for the coalition of supporters’ trusts from other clubs who have been campaigning on the issue.
Real Madrid are no longer the world’s most valuable sports team according to a new study by Forbes. At £2.1bn they have been overtaken by the Dallas Cowboys at £2.6bn.
Barcelona are in fifth place at £2bn. The only other football team in the top ten are Manchester United at £2.01bn.
Rooted at the bottom of League 2, Newport County are slipping deeper into financial trouble. Their promotion from the Conference in 2013 was funded by lottery winner Lee Scadding, but he has withdrawn his backing. The former truck driver got tired of funding losses of £40,000 a month.
He has handed responsibility for running the club to the Supporters’ Trust. They have until the end of September to raise the £225,000 needed to repay creditors and complete their takeover. So far they have raised half that amount.
Torquay United could be forced to close. One problem is that attendances have been falling. Only 1,558 watched their home game against Guiseley, 250 less than their break even figure of 1,800.
With guaranteed television money in the Premier League soon to reach more than £100m a year for each club, gate money is not the advantage it once was. For some clubs such as Stoke City and Swansea City, gate receipts represent less than 10 per cent of revenue. That proportion will diminish once the new broadcasting deal starts in 2016-17.
Celtic have turned a £4m profit into a £11m loss in the year to 30 June. The explanation is a failure to reach the group stages of the Champions League and a reduction in transfer income. Revenue fell by over a fifth to £51.1m.