ESPN Looking To Acquire Prem TV Rights

By: chris | January 14th, 2009

If you live stateside and need a bigger Prem football fix without upgrading your cable, this could be music to your ears. If you live stateside and feel like you get enough of your EPL fix during Champions League matchdays, then get ready to pony up for GolTV to even things out. ESPN is reportedly interested in not just showing the Champions League as presented by Barclay’s Premier League, but also the actual BPL (or here). You know, because they speak English too. And to show there are no hard feelings about that whole Revolutionary War thing.

Bloomberg said the most watched U.S. sports channel was considering bids for one or two of the six packages on offer, citing a person familiar with the plans, who declined to be identified because the bidding process had not started yet.

The FA Premier League sent out invitations last month to tender for the rights for 2010 to 2013.

“We are interested in all rights, including the Premier League, as long as they fit our business,” the ESPN spokesman said. “But we don’t have any comment on the Premier League despite press speculation about it.”

So the self-proclaimed Global Leader In Sports is looking to finally get into the arena of the global game. Clearly this whole “global leader” business has been a prediction all along then, much less a definitive proclamation.

No big secret there’s a ton of cash in the Prem right now - just like La Liga before them and Serie A even before that (it’s cyclical, you know). So it’s nothing more than smart business to climb on the back of a growing enterprise and go for a ride. But along with this growing enterprise is an increasing American influence. The ownership is constantly growing, with at least two of the Big Four American-owned now and no telling what’s going to happen with Arsenal in the near or distant future. Then there’s Aston Villa. Let’s call it a Big Four & Guest and say 60% are American-owned and another is currently trying to find who they are and will give the other guy a call when they’re ready for a relationship. Suffice it to say: Americans like buying up Prem teams and will increasingly do so.

You have to wonder if this isn’t just about ESPN, with the global leader being merely one small part of the increasing American influence in the Premiership as it gets more and more exposure (branding) across the pond. One can only wonder what’s next? And if you haven’t watched the news lately, this isn’t good because America ruins everything.