Broadcast EPL Premier League Richard Masters

Premier League Considering Introduction Of OTT Platform, Says CEO Masters

February 10, 2020

Recently appointed Premier League Chief Executive Officer Richard Masters says the league has ‘considered’ the introduction of an OTT platform.

“During the last [bidding rights] process we spent quite a lot of time and invested a lot of resources in building our expertise and capacity in ‘direct-to-consumer’,” said Premier League CEO Masters, according to The Daily Mail.

“There is risk associated with it. The Premier League has been successful by seeking partnerships with established broadcasters and having secure funding as its model, as opposed to direct consumer revenue, which is an entirely different strategy. The transition from one to the other if and when it ever happens would be a big moment.”

He added: “We considered whether strategically it would be the right time to test a few markets then and decided not to. We were ready last time and we will be ready next time should the opportunity arise. Eventually the Premier League will move to a mix of direct-to-consumer and [traditional] media rights sales.”

These are highly interesting comments, particularly for the broadcast companies who will be expecting to bid for the rights during the next bidding process, for the 2022/23 to 2024/25 cycle.

The league’s current deals bring in a huge amount of guaranteed money to the league each cycle, so to put that under threat would be a bold move, however it at least shows that the Premier League are not afraid to explore new models.

Broadcast EPL Premier League Richard Masters