Report Overview

Football and COVID-19 – Avoiding meltdown

In a likely scenario, the suspended football season could be concluded in empty stadiums in a June and July rush, nevertheless with severe financial consequences

Pay-TV incumbents like Sky face limited risk—at worst they lose four months of subscription revenue for games already paid for. No-contract services such as DAZN must anticipate a more severe shock

To limit disruption, pain will have to be shared across the supply-chain with players’ pay first in line. But fast coordination in a continent-wide, multi-layered industry is challenging; in places, the issue may turn political

Contents

Finishing the 2019/20 season

Financial impact on clubs

Seeking orderly wage cuts now

Hitting already weak balance sheets

Pay-TV’s losses are capped

Bailouts, pain sharing, and litigation

List of charts/tables

Figure 1: Premier League’s wage bill’s weight on liquidity (monthly wages/cash on hand)

Figure 2: European football’s original calendar

Figure 3: ‘Big five’ European league clubs’ revenue, 2017/18 (€m)

Figure 4: Net current assets of Premier League clubs (latest fiscal year)

Figure 5: Sky and BT’s sports exposure (£bn)