The world’s most popular football league English Premier League (EPL) is looking to establish a new media partner in India. Its three-year-long contract with Star India will conclude following the 2024-25 season.

The Premier League has an enormous fan base in India and has shown consistent growth in popularity. However, its media right valuation has seen a consistent decline from a peak of $145 million during the 2013-14 to 2015-16 seasons to $100 million from 2016-17 to 2018-19, $81 million from 2019-20 to 2021-22, and now down to $60 million for the current cycle (2022-23 to 2024-25). This is due to the decline in TV viewership, challenges in content monetization and lack of competition from rival broadcasters.

Reports suggest that Star India is unwilling to renew the contract. Star India served 20 years as the media partner of the premier league, broadcasting each football season through Star Sports and Disney+Hotsar streaming service.

"The Premier League is actively seeking new partners for media rights as it appears that negotiations with Star have stalled. They've opened the door to multiple parties and are keen on diverse package offerings, even for those who may not want an all-encompassing deal," stated a broadcasting executive.

Star had previously retained the broadcasting rights of the Premier League through contract renewals. But now as non-renewal is eminent the league authorities are approaching other market players like Sony Pictures Network, Warner Bros Discovery’s Euro Sport, and Dream Sports-owned FanCode. However, both Sony and Star are eyeing the broadcasting rights of the Asian Cricket Council.

"The Premier League remains a highly sought-after property with a substantial fan following in India, especially boosted by the growth of streaming platforms like Disney+ Hotstar and Jio Cinema. However, navigating content rights monetization poses challenges for these high-value assets” said Rajesh Sethi a senior advisor for media and entertainment at PWC.
 

The Premier League is the most coveted football league in the world, the highest level of English Football. It is contested by 20 clubs. Each season starts from August to May.  Most of the games are played on weekends and occasional weekday fixtures. It is broadcasted in 212 territories to 643 million homes, with approximately 4.7 billion audience. It is valued at over $30 billion with each club valuing at an average $1,51billion. It includes some of the richest football clubs in the world like Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea and some of the biggest footballing talent like Erling Haaland, Mohammed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Josep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, Enzo Maresca.