Premier League clubs are braced for digital giants such as Amazon and Facebook to gate-crash the bidding for streaming rights when the next TV deal is negotiated in the coming months, according to Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman of Manchester United.
The news could result in another huge rise in the broadcast income for clubs, which would risk driving transfer fees and player wages even higher, and pose a significant threat to the stranglehold Sky and BT Sport have over domestic TV rights given the colossal financial might of the new media providers.
Facebook underlined its determination to enter the sports market with a failed £444 million bid for digital rights to cricket’s Indian Premier League earlier this month while Amazon has paid £37 million to live stream the 10 Thursday night NFL American football games this season. Google and Netflix have also been touted as potential bidders for Premier League rights.