European football revenue rises to record, Deloitte says

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A dejected David De Gea of Manchester United looks at the ball in his net as Leonardo Ulloa of Leicester City scores his team’s opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Leicester City and Manchester United at The King Power Stadium on September 21, 2014

The English Premier League was the clear market leader, however, scoring a record revenue of £4.5 billion ($6 billion) during 2016/17.

Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe,” Tim Bridge, a director in Deloitte’s sports business group, said Thursday that the English Premier League was entering an era of stability.

“If you go back 10 years, 60 percent of (English) premier league clubs were making losses. That has all changed,” he said, highlighting that all top-flight clubs in England made an operating profit in 2016/17.

The price to pay for English Premier League football rights for television broadcasters such as Sky, BT and now Amazon, has fallen in the U.K., but Bridge said that had been offset by the amount secured in global deals.

“You have got to give the English Premier League credit for remaining the key live property for the public.”