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- UK pay-TV network successfully argues ‘devaluation’ of competition rights
- The FA, English soccer’s national governing body, also makes contribution
- Carabao Cup makes up two-thirds of EFL clubs’ annual UK£119m Sky deal
Premier League clubs have reportedly agreed to a UK£25 million (US$32.57 million) rebate for Sky Sports, with the UK pay-TV broadcaster successfully arguing that the 2020/21 Carabao Cup has been devalued by English soccer’s top-flight.
Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the English soccer schedule, the secondary domestic knockout tournament is going ahead next season. However, according to the Daily Mail, potential conflicts with European soccer’s Uefa Champions League and Uefa Europa League club competitions will see two-leg semi-finals scrapped and elite teams fielding weakened sides.
All 20 Premier League clubs have apparently agreed to underwrite the majority of the refund to the Carabao Cup’s broadcast partner, while the Football Association (FA) will apparently also make an undisclosed contribution.
The rebate is worth close to a third of Sky’s pending UK£80 million (US$104.3 million) rights fee for the tournament.
The decision means that clubs in the three professional English Football League (EFL) divisions below the Premier League will be spared any further losses in a time of financial instability. The Carabao Cup makes up to two-thirds of the EFL’s UK£119 million (US$155.2 million) annual broadcast deal with Sky Sports.
The Premier League was also required to dispatch a rescue package to struggling EFL clubs as a pre-condition to the government’s support for the top-flight’s June restart, with lower-league clubs now said to be considering a request for ‘additional assistance’.
The top-flight clubs are reportedly in talks to advance a second solidarity payment worth UK£55 million (US$71.7 million) to EFL clubs in October, having already paid the same amount in the wake of the early season curtailments in the third and fourth tiers.
Premier League clubs have reportedly agreed to a UK£25 million (US$32.57 million) rebate for Sky Sports, with the UK pay-TV broadcaster successfully arguing that the 2020/21 Carabao Cup has been devalued by English soccer’s top-flight.
Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the English soccer schedule, the secondary domestic knockout tournament is going ahead next season. However, according to the Daily Mail, potential conflicts with European soccer’s Uefa Champions League and Uefa Europa League club competitions will see two-leg semi-finals scrapped and elite teams fielding weakened sides.
All 20 Premier League clubs have apparently agreed to underwrite the majority of the refund to the Carabao Cup’s broadcast partner, while the Football Association (FA) will apparently also make an undisclosed contribution.
The rebate is worth close to a third of Sky’s pending UK£80 million (US$104.3 million) rights fee for the tournament.
The decision means that clubs in the three professional English Football League (EFL) divisions below the Premier League will be spared any further losses in a time of financial instability. The Carabao Cup makes up to two-thirds of the EFL’s UK£119 million (US$155.2 million) annual broadcast deal with Sky Sports.
The Premier League was also required to dispatch a rescue package to struggling EFL clubs as a pre-condition to the government’s support for the top-flight’s June restart, with lower-league clubs now said to be considering a request for ‘additional assistance’.
The top-flight clubs are reportedly in talks to advance a second solidarity payment worth UK£55 million (US$71.7 million) to EFL clubs in October, having already paid the same amount in the wake of the early season curtailments in the third and fourth tiers.
