The Premier League reached a cumulative global audience of over 3.2 billion people during the 2019/20 season, an increase of 6% compared to the previous year. The world’s most-watched sports league is only getting bigger after signing major rights deals with companies like Amazon. But the Premier League is unique compared to the other biggest sports leagues. The NBA, NFL, and MLB all stand alone in their respective sports. In terms of revenue, the NBA is almost eleven times bigger than the second most successful basketball league in China.
But football is different. 11 of the 17 most lucrative sports leagues in the world are football leagues but the Premier League eclipses them all. The league took in £4.827 billion in revenue in 2017/18 according to The Guardian. That is a great deal more than the Spanish La Liga in second at £3.86 billion. The Premier League has been a massive success since its 1992 launch and here are some of the reasons why.
The Best of the Best
“I just wanted to play against the best.”
The vast majority of players from abroad will say words to that effect when signing for a Premier League club. It’s no secret that so many of the best players in world football want to spend their careers in the Premier League. The same applies to managers as well. Probably the two best managers in world football are plying their trade in the Premier League right now and the chasing pack isn’t too far behind.
It also helps when Premier League teams have been so dominant over the rest of the world in recent years. The two finals of Europe’s top two club competitions – the UEFA Champions League and Europa League – were contested between English clubs last season. The teams are all performing well again this year and that only strengthens the draw of the Premier League.
Global Access
It helps that the league is played in the United Kingdom. English is the second most spoken language in the world after Chinese so the Premier League and its commentators can reach a global audience. Even the kick-off times help. The fact that games usually kick-off on early afternoons in the UK means that they can be broadcast in the morning in North America and the evening in Asia.
The Football Itself
An important point is just how entertaining the football is. It is a sports league primarily and the sport takes preference. Premier League football is unlike many other types of football across the world, played at a much faster tempo and making for a more exciting viewing experience. This is something that the players themselves have noticed.
“The game here is more fast-paced [in the Premier League]. The ball never stops,” explained West Ham United player Felipe Anderson in an interview with Betway. The forward had previously played in the Italian Serie A before moving to the Premier League.
Smart Marketing
The Premier League has taken things to the next level in recent years. The banking giants Barclays sponsored the league for 15 years but the Premier League dropped its title sponsor in 2016 and has adopted a clean branding ever since. This is something more in line with the NBA and NFL that helps attract smaller sponsors according to The Drum.
But there are so many subtle things that make the final product all the more receptive to broadcasters across the world. Pitch-side microphones capture crowd noise to make the television viewer feel a part of the action and the high-quality cameras capture it all. What’s more, the British climate – and some rumoured technological changes mean that the pitches are far more vibrant. The grass is literally greener in the Premier League.
Fans & History
And now, perhaps the most important reason of all. The British invented football and as such, there are over 150 years of history for the Premier League to draw from. Supporters may have been following clubs their entire lives, just like their parents or grandparents before them. And that is only amplified on derby day. Local rivalries and derby matches have been played dozens, even hundreds of times. These are ready-made contests that really bring out the best of the Premier League and foreign investors are eager to get in on the action.
It all has a very organic feeling to it. The English football league was built from the ground up with thousands of clubs playing in a pyramid that starts in local parks and ends in the Premier League. The youngest club in the Premier League right now is Crystal Palace, a club originally founded in 1905. English football wasn’t manufactured and today, that has helped the Premier League become the titan it is.
