Which Premier League clubs are most reliant on TV revenue?

The team at The Football Finance Times have assessed which sides need broadcast revenue the most

4:51pm on Wednesday 3rd June 2020
By Team FC

The current domestic Premier League TV contracts run until 2021/22, with Sky Sports and BT Sport paying the majority of the £5.1Bn distributed among the clubs across the three season.

Amazon pay for a package too, while BBC Sport retain their Match of the Day agreement for free-to-air broadcasting.

CURRENT UK BROADCAST ARRANGEMENT

Package 1: BT to show 32 matches on Saturday early KO (1230GMT)

Package 2: Sky Sports to show 32 matches on Saturdays at 17:30

Package 3: Sky Sports to show 32 matches, 24 on Sundays early KO (1400GMT) and eight on Saturdays late KO (1945GMT)

Package 4: Sky Sports to show 32 matches on Sundays late KO (1630GMT)

Package 5: Sky Sports to show 24 matches on Mondays late KO (2000GMT) or Fridays late KO (2000GMT) and eight on Sundays early KO (1400GMT)

Package 6: Amazon to show 20 matches in two batches of 10, on a chosen Bank Holiday and on Boxing Day

Package 7: BT to show 20 matches from two midweek fixture programmes

Much is made of how broadcast revenues can send clubs' ability to spend to a completely new level. Much of the 'big six' are keen to balance their revenue generation across the three key strands; broadcast, commercial and matchday.

But some clubs are largely reliant on TV money to pay the bills - but how much?

Let's look at 2018/19 TV revenue distribution versus total revenue.

Takeaways:

- Cardiff City's promotion to the Premier League in 2018 meant that of the £123m revenue they generated in 18/29, a whopping 83.8% came from TV.

- Bournemouth, still in the Premier League at the time of writing, aren't far behind, with 82.5% coming from the same source.

- The disparity between the established Big Six and the rest of the league is stark, and concerning.

- From Manchester United (22.6%) to Arsenal (36.4%) the average distribution for the Big Six from TV revenue is 29.9%

- But for the remaining 14 teams, that figure increases to 74%.

- If there is a clear message as to why the Premier League teams are desperate to get the action back underway following the COVID-19 lockdown, the threat of TV revenue being handed back or lost is it, and this table explains the extent of the predicament they would face in a worst-case scenario.