Premier League clubs are set to be hit with an extra £36m-a-week rebate to broadcasters for every week the season extends beyond July 16.
The suspension of the season is set to cost Premier League clubs significant figures in broadcast revenue, with sides set to owe a combined sum of £762m to Sky Sports, BT Sport and international broadcasters should the remainder of the campaign be cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The financial impact of cancelling the campaign is believed to be amongst the driving factors behind the Premier League’s ‘Project Restart’ plans, with clubs already facing rebates of £330m to broadcasters even if the season is completed after failing to fulfil contractual obligations.
Those penalties involve the delivery and timing of the product, broadcasters set to be reimbursed following the delay of the season and spectacle of fixtures being played behind-closed-doors.
According to the Telegraph, the costs for Premier League sides are set to rise further, however, owing to a ‘sliding scale of payments due depending on when the season is finished’, with the full details of the rebates expected to be presented to the 20 representative clubs later this month.
The target date for the league’s restart has been June 12, though there is a growing acceptance that this is likely to be pushed back with clubs having only returned to training in small groups this week.
June 19 has been reported as the earliest possible start date for the Premier League, less than four weeks before the £36m-a-week costs will begin.
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