PL clubs in dispute over TV money

As Premier League chairmen meet to discuss ways for dividing the GBP 2.7 billion television windfall, some of the smaller clubs, concerned over the drop in attendance and the competitiveness of the league, are calling for urgent changes in the way the TV income is distributed.

The Daily Telegraph reported that in an effort to find a solution to the dispute, eight Premier League clubs met in Manchester on Monday and the rest were going to meet on Tuesday.

English Charlton, which could be relegated, is leading the revolt. Club chairman Richard Murray recently wrote to all the Premier League clubs outlining a set of proposals to help spread the new money more evenly and improve competition.

The club is confident it has support, but it also has to get the votes of 14 out of 20 chairmen to get the distribution formula changed.

A vote would not take place before next month, but in a sign of how seriously the league is concerned with the issue, it is said that at the meeting in Manchester, chief executive Richard Scudamore tabled a number of new options concerning how the TV money will be split.

All Premier League clubs receive an equal share of 50 percent of the current GBP 1.1 billion domestic TV deal, the bulk of which is provided by a GBP 1.024 billion exclusive live TV rights deal with Sky that will expire this summer.

A further 25 percent is divided up according to where clubs finish in the league and the final quarter depends on how many times a club appears on TV. Money from the sale of overseas rights is divided equally.

The clubs will earn a 60 percent increase in TV revenue next season and some chairmen believe changes must be made now to avoid a disastrous divide between the big clubs and the smaller ones.

Although the league argues that the new deal will lead to the smallest differential yet between top and bottom, Scudamore has forecast that the winners of next year's title will net GBP 50 million, while the bottom club will receive GBP 30 million. According to figures for the 2005-06 season, the difference between 20th-placed Sunderland and champions Chelsea was GBP 3.6 million.

The concern among the smaller clubs is that the increasing inequality will be distorted further by the top clubs' regular participation in the lucrative Champions League.

Charlton is said to be asking for a far larger percentage of the TV money to be shared equally between the clubs. It says this would reduce the gap generated by merit payments and the TV appearance fees, which the larger, more successful clubs receive a bigger proportion.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.