Premier League to launch direct-to-fans streaming service “eventually”

The English Premier League (EPL) is planning to launch a direct-to-consumer OTT streaming service that will stand alongside its broadcast rights packages, its new chief executive has said.

According to a report in the UK newspaper the Daily Mail, Richard Masters has indicated that the plan for the service is already well underway, although no exact timeframe has been given, only suggesting that it is an inevitable move for the EPL.

Masters is reported to have said: “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’.

“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.”

UEFA already has a direct-to-consumer streaming service, as does the English FA and LaLiga in Spain.

Germany’s Bundesliga is reportedly also considering launching a streaming service in those countries where it does not receive sufficiently high bids for its media rights.