Sky, BT Sport and Amazon Prime Video have held a triopoly over the UK’s Premier League rights for five years, with the three companies paying around £4.8 billion for the broadcast packages back in 2018.
We have already assessed the contenders for the 2025-28 Premier League TV rights. It’s now time to rank the top five candidates based on several key factors, including cost, live streaming, pundits and commentators.
5. Apple TV
It has been reported that Apple is preparing a bid for Premier League broadcast rights in the UK, with Apple TV – the company’s live streaming platform – ready to take its service to the next level.
Following the successful launch of Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass, which has been praised for its outstanding picture quality, Apple could provide Premier League fans with top-notch coverage at a reasonable price.
4. Sky Sports
Sky currently holds four of the Premier League’s seven UK packages, enabling it to broadcast 128 matches per season. However, the cheapest way to access Sky Sports is via a NOW monthly sports pass for £34.99/month.
Of course, Sky Sports will continue to dominate the market. But the overall cost – and the decline in popularity of key figures such as Martin Tyler and Gary Neville – makes the Comcast-owned giant one of the less favoured bidders among the public.
3. DAZN
Having achieved 1.2 billion hours of global streaming time across 130 million devices in 2022, DAZN is now the biggest sports streaming service in Europe. Naturally, that puts the London-based company among the favourites for Premier League rights.
If DAZN wins the rights, fans would almost certainly save a lot of money when it comes to subscription costs. That said, DAZN would struggle to take a sizeable number of matches from the current rights holders.
2. BT Sport
BT Sport is set to rebrand as TNT Sports in July, following a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). BT currently has two of the seven packages in the UK and is allowed to show 52 games a season.
Not only is BT Sport cheaper than Sky Sports, but it also has a broader range of expert presenters, pundits and analysts. On top of that, BT Sport has a cutting-edge app with in-game features, giving it an advantage in the live streaming department.
1. Viaplay
Over the past few years, Viaplay has emerged as a top-of-the-range option when it comes to streaming sports. The Swedish company already holds the Premier League rights in nine European countries and looks destined to expand.
Viaplay Sports currently costs just £14.99 a month in the UK, while fans can pay £11.99 a month if they commit to a one-year contract. With UK viewers required to spend more than £600 a year to watch the Premier League, Viaplay is an excellent low-cost option.
Plus, Viaplay already works with industry-leading pundits and commentators, proving that it can offer the complete package, with multiple worldwide football leagues also on board.
The chances of the Premier League moving solely to a streaming service are slim, of course, but Viaplay certainly has what it takes to be the future of Premier League broadcasting in the UK.
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