The English top-flight league is set to revolutionize live football with the new service. The Premier League is currently undergoing preparations to launch an all-new Netflix-style digital streaming channel, CEO Richard Masters has confirmed. The service, dubbed 'PreFlix', is expected to revamp the way league matches are watched in and outside UK and it could cost fans as little as £10-per-month to access live matches all year round.
The Premiership's plan to shift to the 'direct-to-consumer' model of delivering live coverage of games is in the offing with trails of a new 'Over The Top' (OTT) service currently underway. If things go according to plan, the shift to the digital streaming channel could see traditional broadcasters taking a hit in terms of consumption in as early as the next two years.
"During the last [rights bidding] process [for the 2019-22 seasons] we spent quite a lot of time and invested a lot of resources in building our expertise and capacity in 'direct-to-consumer', Masters declared.
"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."
Access
In terms of access,'PremFlix' is expected to be available across the 188 countries where Premier League games are already shown. The target audience who exceed more than 200 million households (as per the estimated number using pay-TV for access globally) could also increase in anticipation for the new OTT service. There would be multiple channels on the service and in different languages with all 380 matches in the season available upon subscription.
Pricing
The introduction of 'PremFlix'is expected to benefit the top-flight clubs through increased broadcasting revenue as well as the fans who could potentially get lower prices for subscription. Currently, Premier League viewers in UK viewer needs to subscribe to Sky, BT Sport and Amazon Prime if they fancy watching all the 380 matches in the season legally. The net cost of the three services combined is £912 a year, or £76 a month.
Needless to say, the arrival of 'PremFlix' could possibly alter these dynamics as more people will pay less and the larger reach will subsequently allow for more subscription and profit. At the moment, the price for subscription has not been set yet.
Impact of 'PremFlix' on the EPL's revenue generation from broadcast rights
While the news of 'PremFlix' prospective arrival should be good for top-clubs in the Premier League and their fans, it does not necessarily bid well for traditional broadcasters. Primarily, their pricing could take a hit as the likes of Sky, BT Sport and Amazon Prime would now have to compete with 'PremFlix' - which is expected to be relatively cheaper - for consumers.
In terms of its significance to the amount of revenue to be generated from broadcast rights, there could be a massive boost for the Premier League. At the moment, the league earns a little over £3 billion per year from all broadcast rights with £1.665 billion coming from domestic rights (Sky, BT, Amazon, the BBC for MOTD) while £1.4 billion is amassed from all foreign rights.
In an abstract scenario, should all the 200 million global households pay £10-a-month for PremFlix instead of generally much larger fees to the likes of Sky and BT, the earnings from broadcast rights could be boosted all the way to £24 billion per annum.
"There is risk associated with it," Masters revealed.
"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."
In a nutshell, the possibility of the Premier League to gain significant boost to its earnings is endless but a feasible modus operandi need to be instated. In the meantime, the results from the testing phase should set the foundation for the streaming service's potential launch in 2022.
