Premier League open door to ‘Netflix of Football’ operation with major broadcast change

The Premier League have announced that their partnership with IMG will end after 20 years for a new media operation.

IMG, a New York-based global sports media company, have worked in partnership with the English top flight since 2004 to deliver its international coverage.

3

The service has been operating as Premier League Productions [PLP] and broadcasts to over 180 countries.

However, the league has announced that a new ‘in-house media operations business’, will be established as of the 2026/27 season.

This decision has come following the Premier League Shareholders’ meeting on Friday.

“IMG has been a fantastic partner for the Premier League over the past 20 years,” said Premier League Chief Media Officer Paul Molnar.

“They have worked tirelessly on our behalf to provide world-class content and services to our international partners.

“During this time, our partnership has been at the forefront of broadcast innovation to deliver top-class programming week in, week out throughout the season. This has all come together to play a vital role in growing our global audiences and popularity.

“As we move the media production operations in-house, we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a best-in-class content service to our partners and millions of passionate fans around the world.”

The Premier League say they will announce further details of their new in-house media setup in due course.

While this change does not yet affect Premier League coverage in the UK, this news could pave the way for a new experience for fans of all 20 Premier League clubs to watch their teams.

talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan previously proposed a ‘Netflix of Football’ idea, in which the Premier League would take full ownership of the games via one cheaper streaming service, removing the need for multiple TV subscriptions.

3

Reacting to the news on talkSPORT, chief football commentator Alex Crook said: “It sounds like this is basically the first step towards what Simon Jordan has been advocating for in this programme for a long time now – the Premier League actually setting up their own in-house television channel.”

Ex-Watford captain Troy Deeney added: “I think for most fans, I put myself in that, we just want somewhere where we can watch all the games in one simple thing.

“I’ve got NFL app, I’ve got the NBA app, I like to watch the games in my own time. And I think that’s probably what we want. We don’t want to have to keep paying for different subscriptions.”

He added: “In my opinion, as long as it gives the fan an opportunity to watch their game of choice, also in a place where it’s not too expensive, because it is getting very expensive to be a football fan, and I think we have to be careful to not drive out what football is all about.

“It’s for everyone, so let’s not drive it to a place where it becomes socially unacceptable to be able to afford it.”

While the current TV deals in the UK are locked in until the 2028/29 season, former Chelsea defender Scott Minto said this could offer an indication into the Premier League’s future intentions.

3

He said: “When it comes to the end of the next one where they haven’t got it already agreed, the Premier League might turn around and say, you know what, I don’t care whether it’s overseas, whether it’s UK rights, we want it all in-house and we’re going to look after this.

“I respect what he does say in terms of the amount of money that they could make. I mean, they’re making billions already. And yet they could probably double it.”

As well as this, the league have confirmed their dates for the 2025/26 season, which will begin on Saturday 16 August 2025.

The campaign will conclude on Sunday 24 May 2026, with all matches being played at the same time as per tradition.

“The schedule continues to allow more rest time for players over the festive match round period, with no two rounds taking place within 60 hours of each other,” a statement reads.

“This is in keeping with commitments made to clubs to address the congested Christmas and New Year schedule.”

There will be a total of 33 weekends and five midweek match rounds of action during the 2025/26 season.

As well as this, there will be a clear 83 days between the end of the current campaign and the start of the next over the summer.

The season will end on May 24 2026 before the FIFA Club World Cup call-up period, with the revamped competition launching in 2025.

Furthermore, no matches will be played on December 24 2025 following the controversy over Wolves vs Chelsea being played on Christmas Eve last season.