The payTV broadcasters Sky and BT Sport have retained their hold on live televised Premier League football, paying £4.464bn (€5.013bn) to the clubs for the rights to the five main packages of matches from 2019-22. Two minor packages of rights remain to be sold, a new experiment by the Premier League to allow the entire fixture list of 10 matches to be broadcast simultaneously, four times a season. BT Sport said in a statement that it remains interested in those further rights, with the internet platform Amazon also said to be interested in securing some Premier League matches. Sky, which has based its original revival from financial difficulties in 1992, and escalating commercial fortunes since, on securing exclusive rights to live Premier League football, is to show the matches on its dedicated Premier League channel. The deals maintain the Premier League as by far the world’s richest football league, with the overseas rights sales still to be concluded.

Source: The Irish Times February 14, 2018 10:41 UTC