[jfman]

It could be very bad timing for the Premier League to join up. On an inflation adjusted basis the EFL rights are at or near their peak with the current value at the eye-watering levels ITV Digital put themselves under bankrolling (or not bankrolling).

The Premier League has year on year been falling in value since 2016 in real terms. There’s no evidence in this rights auction that we can’t expect more of the same in five years time. The EFL will be on solid ground to argue it’s the additional matches they bring to the table, from lower league clubs, that add value. The big boys are already on 30+ times a season - the market is saturated. I’ve seen it said on another forum, but not crunched the numbers myself, the new contract creates the theoretical possibility of a team having every game televised depending on the Europa League.