Sky Sports & TNT tie up £6.7bn Premier League rights deals

Sky Sports and TNT Sports have agreed deals to air the Premier League until the end of the 2028/29 season, for a combined £6.7 billion combined with the BBC’s highlights rights.

The deals begin with the 2025/26 season and is a four-year deal instead of the three-year agreements of the last auctions. The £6.7 billion combined rights fee is an increase on the £5.1 billion paid by Sky Sports, TNT Sports, Prime Video, and BBC Sport in the last rights auction - which took place in 2018 as the rights were rolled over during the pandemic. The Premier League claims it is a 4% increase in live rights value compared to the previous process, but it does come with the caveat that more games are now on offer in a longer term deal.

Sky Sports has agreed deals for four packages of rights, for at least 215 games - up to 100 more than it currently airs. This is the maximum amount of packages for any one broadcaster, and includes all first pick matches, Friday and Monday night fixtures, all games on the last day of the season, multiple live matches at the same time on the Sunday 2pm slot, and three full midweek rounds of fixtures.

Dana Strong, Group CEO at Sky, said: “This is a fantastic result for Sky customers, who will see a significant increase in the number of matches from the most iconic league in the world. We are proud of our long history with the Premier League and look forward to delivering more engagement, entertainment, and innovation to the end of the decade.

“Sky is the undisputed home for sport fans in the UK. Our customers have more of the sports they love and more long-term certainty than ever before, with an unrivalled volume of domestic football, alongside Formula 1, cricket, golf, rugby league, tennis and much more.”

Meanwhile, TNT Sports continues to hold the Saturday lunchtime spot and two mid-week rounds - 52 live games total. Andrew Georgiou, president and MD, UK & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe, said: “It’s hugely exciting to continue to bring fans exclusive Premier League matches for the next five seasons. TNT Sports has quickly established itself as a premium live sport offering and the Premier League is an important part of our line-up that includes the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Women’s Champions League, UEFA Europa League, MotoGP, boxing, NBA, UFC, Premiership Rugby, Champions Cup and much more.

“As the new streaming home of TNT Sports, discovery+ gives our customers access to even more live sport through Eurosport, the only place where you can get every moment of Olympic Games Paris 2024, the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, cycling’s Grand Tours, including the Tour de France, alongside the full range of discovery+ entertainment, in an offering that has something for everyone.”

TNT Sports is the only broadcaster outside of Sky to have any live Premier League football, despite earlier reports linking the likes of Prime Video and DAZN with bids for the rights. DAZN chief financial officer Darren Waterman spoke to Broadcast Sport earlier this year, and explained that while the UK is important for the broadcaster - which already holds domestic rights to LaLiga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga - it isn’t existential.

Finally, BBC Sport will continue to hold highlights rights, with with additional digital rights for the BBC’s online platforms.

Richard Masters, Premier League chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to announce new deals with Sky Sports and TNT Sports that will extend our partnership for a further four years and see more Premier League matches than ever before shown live from 2025/26 onwards.

“As longstanding and valued partners, Sky Sports and TNT Sports are renowned for consistently delivering world-class coverage and programming. We have enjoyed record audiences and attendances in recent seasons, and we know that their continued innovation will drive more people to watch and follow the Premier League.

“We are also extremely pleased to extend our partnership with BBC Sport, which will continue to bring weekly highlights of all Premier League matches to the widest possible audience in the UK. Match of the Day has been an institution for generations of football fans in this country and remains incredibly popular with fans of all ages.

“The outcome of this process underlines the strength of the Premier League and is testament to our clubs, players and managers who continue to deliver the world’s most competitive football in full stadiums, and to supporters, who create an unrivalled atmosphere every week.”