GAME CHANGER: DAZN Expected To Nab At Least One Package Of Premier League Rights Ahead Of UK Auction
- The Premier League Sent Out An Invitation To Tender Last Week
- Bids Are Due By The End Of Nov With A Result Expected In December
- DAZN, Sky And TNT Expected To Share 5 Packages With Sky Dominating
The Premier League’s domestic rights have gone to an open auction for the first time in eight years after an invitation to tender was sent out last week.
Bids are due by the end of November with a result expected before Christmas for the next cycle of rights that will begin in 2025.
5 packages are up for grabs ranging from 42 to 65 matches per season with a record 270 games available. The length of the deal has also been extended from 3 to 4 years in another attempt to raise bids.
DAZN, Sky, TNT In Premier League Race
It is understood to be ‘highly likely’ that Amazon Prime will NOT be bidding in this year’s auction after their cut-price £90m package of 20 games is no longer on offer.
The cheapest of the five packages is expected to be around £300m/year – a sum too much for Amazon to commit to.
According to The Guardian, YouTube and Apple remain long shots but should not be ruled out.
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Sky, TNT and DAZN are the three almost guaranteed to bid and it is likely that all three of them will share the rights.
It has been reported that DAZN is expected to target the expanded Amazon Prime package as it is more attainable than the primetime packages which Sky and TNT are presumed to get.
“My basic expectation is that there will be some room left for DAZN,” says François Godard, a sports analyst at Enders Analysis…DAZN won’t blow up the auction; they have been highly cautious not to push up prices in country-by-country deals. They are not crazy.”
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However, other reports claim that DAZN is aiming higher than just a single package.
The Times claim that DAZN could provide a serious challenge to TNT with Saturday 12:30 pm a key target for them.
Either way, it seems more than likely that a new player will emerge with Premier League rights in the UK.
By NoSmokeSport