LONDON (AP) — premier league CEO Richard Masters announced Thursday that the company will launch a Netflix-style direct-to-customer streaming platform starting next season.
Premier League Plus will first be launched in Singapore and, if successful, could be “replicated around the world”.
“This has been a very long, considered and carefully selected process,” Masters told the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in London. “For the first time, the Premier League will have its own customers. Promotion, pricing, cancellation, distribution, all of that has to be dealt with, but we are trying to build a business.
“We also want to learn and see how it is replicated around the world.”
The new platform could ultimately change the way fans consume the world’s most popular league. The number of viewers around the world is 1.87 billion, and it is watched in 189 countries.
It has long been rumored that the league would launch a “Premflix” platform. Until now, it has always sold rights to independent broadcasters such as Sky Sports in the UK and NBC in the US.
It also plans to open a new Premier League studio production base in London.
“What we’re doing in Singapore with Premier League Plus is really not only about building a business, but also about learning,” Masters said. “If things go well, it could be replicated. There’s no need to predict anything further at this stage.”
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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