Women’s Super League pay price for delaying TV rights auction as clubs question negotiating strategy… plus Brentford’s experiment for Sheffield United fixture – AHEAD OF THE GAME

The new Women’s Super League TV contract announced today represents a major victory for rights holders Sky Sports and the BBC, leaving many clubs questioning the WSL Board’s negotiating strategy, as a far bigger deal was discussed last year. 

Sky and BBC have both succeeded in gaining more live games in the one-year extension for the same fees they have been paying over the last three years, around £7million and £750,000 respectively.

To compound the disappointment felt at some clubs Mail Sport has learned that the WSL held talks over a more generous three-year package from Sky and the BBC last year. 

While a formal offer was not made it is understood that the negotiations centred on a potential deal which would have seen the clubs receive combined fees from Sky and the BBC of £9m in the first two years of the deal, before an increase to £10m in the final year to reflect the anticipated growth in viewing figures. 

Broadcasters will show more live games for the same fees they paid over the last three years

During the initial talks some outlandish figures as high as £30m-a-year were being talked about by some on the WSL Board buoyed by England’s 2022 European Championship win, although the Lionesses’ success has not translated into greater competition amongst broadcasters. 

TNT Sport and DAZN did bid for next season’s rights, but neither was willing to top the £7m offered by incumbents Sky. 

The WSL appear to have paid a significant price for delaying the auction until after the Premier League’s sales process was concluded in December, by which point the broadcasters had allocated the majority of their funds.

Premier League clubs facing £106m regulator bill 

Premier League clubs are facing a bill of at least £106million to fund the first 10 years of the new independent regulator in the form of a compulsory government levy. 

Mail Sport has learned that the government have recommended that top-flight clubs pay at least 80 per cent of the regulator’s operational costs, which officials have forecast to be £132.8m over its first decade. 

In addition the Premier League will be forced to pay back the vast majority of the regulator’s start-up expenses, to initially be funded by government, which will cost them millions more. 

Guidance prepared by the department for Culture, Media and Sport seen by Mail Sport states that ‘these clawback costs, once determined, would therefore be added to the levy,’ with the government also making clear that ‘it is our expectation that at least 80 per cent of the levy will be covered by Premier League clubs.’

Premier League clubs are facing a potential £106m bill to fund a regulator for the next 10 years

Brentford to stage augmented highlights experiment

Brentford’s home game against Sheffield United on Saturday will be watched with more than usual interest by the rest of the Premier League clubs due to an innovative experiment taking place at the Gtech Community Stadium. 

So-called augmented highlights will be made available for fans in the stadium, with players’ shot speeds and pitch maps to be shown on the big screen in a collaboration between Gtech and the Premier League’s data partner, Genius Sports. 

Several other clubs have also expressed interest in using the new technology and are likely to follow Brentford’s lead next season if it is popular with supporters.

Augmented highlights will be available on the big screen at the Gtech Community Stadium