The Glazer family discussed the possibility of individual selling of overseas television rights with John W Henry and his colleagues at Liverpool before club chief executive Ian Ayre floated the subject this week, The Daily Telegraph understands.
Ayre’s suggestion that the biggest clubs in the league abandon the Premier League’s collective selling model and exploit their overseas rights individually has met with opposition from the league and clubs concerned that it would ultimately weaken the competition.
Manchester United has also distanced themselves from the comments, but the Glazers and Liverpool’s ownership are thought to have discussed the implications of such a move during talks earlier this year.
Sources have suggested that Liverpool believe they are not a lone voice among Premier League owners even after the lack of public support yesterday for Ayre’s comments.
Despite their clubs’ rivalries, set to be renewed on Saturday at Anfield, the American owners at Manchester United and Liverpool are said to be close and to consult on a number of issues relating to their English football interests.
The Glazers are acutely aware of the value of United’s brand around the world and television rights issue are the most valuable way of exploiting that value. For now they have made no formal move to challenge the collective model, but the very fact the issue has been discussed with Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group, even in abstract terms, indicates that it is on their radar.
The Premier League remains confident that there is still overwhelming support for their collective selling of television rights, even among those clubs with the largest global fan-base and potentially most to gain.
Bruce Buck and Ivan Gazidis, the respective Chelsea and Arsenal chief executives, spoke in favour of the collective selling of rights at last week’s Leaders in Football conference at Stamford Bridge. Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, also recently outlined his belief that Premier League clubs should split their broadcast revenue. “We’d love to have our own but I don’t think it should happen that way,” said Ferguson. “It’s quite fair to have all equal shares.”
In his interview with Telegraph Sport, Arsenal’s new majority owner Stan Kroenke spoke of his experience in American football and the success of rules which maintain a competitive balance in the National Football League.
The Premier League believes that the huge growth in their global popularity is underpinned by their success in delivering matches that are generally very competitive. In Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid earn around 12 times more than their rivals by selling their television rights individually, yet no club has finished within 20 points of them for the past two years.
The Government yesterday also outlined its support for the Premier League’s current model. “It’s a provocative kite to fly,” said sports minister Hugh Robertson.
“One of the strengths of the English game has been collective selling. I don’t want our league which, in many ways, is this country’s greatest sporting export to be like other less competitive leagues elsewhere in the continent. I think the collective selling rights is a crucial part of maintaining the Premier League’s primacy.”
For Liverpool to initiate any change in how the Premier League distributes its £1.4 billion overseas broadcast deal, they would need to secure support from 14 of the 20 clubs.
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