Barclays Bank is considering not renewing its £40m a year sponsorship of the Premier League as it is not seen to deliver ‘value for money and ‘zero value in the UK’. The bank is engaged in a thorough review of its global operations.
The bank’s present deal runs until the end of the 2015-16 football season and members of Barclays’ leadership team are concerned that rapid price inflation for sports rights will mean a much higher amount will be demanded by the Premier League for the next three-year deal.
Barclays Bank is considering not renewing its £40m a year sponsorship of the Premier League as it is not seen to deliver ‘value for money and ‘zero value in the UK’. The bank is engaged in a thorough review of its global operations.
The bank’s present deal runs until the end of the 2015-16 football season and members of Barclays’ leadership team are concerned that rapid price inflation for sports rights will mean a much higher amount will be demanded by the Premier League for the next three-year deal.
Barclays has been the sponsor of the Premier League since 2001 and agreed to pay £120m in 2012 for the present rights. That was 50pc higher than the previous deal, which cost £82m. With the battle for television rights between BSkyB and BT driving up costs, Barclays is now concerned that there will be a knock-on effect.
BSkyB’s present Premier League television deal is worth £2.3bn, 40 per cent more than it paid for its previous agreement. The bank also has to pay additional ‘activation costs’, such as using social media and television to promote the deal.
Senior managers at Barclays are thought to take the view did not need promotion in the UK as the bank has high street branches around the country and its name is well known. It is felt that the Premier League’s sponsorship deal has been most useful for promoting the bank in Asia and Africa but Barclays could now explore other ways of getting its name recognised in overseas territories.
Diageo, for example, sponsors SuperSport television coverage in Africa, which broadcasts Premier League football to 200m viewers. It also directly sponsors leading stars, such as Samuel Eto’o, who plays football for Chelsea and the Cameroon national team.
It is not thought that the Premier League would have difficulty in finding a new sponsor given its global profile. Indeed, it could probably get a bigger financial return than it does at present.