Matt Slater joins us to discuss the rise of the Premier League. Matt is a senior football news reporter for The Athletic UK. Before that, he spent 16 years with the BBC and then three years as chief sports reporter for the UK/Ireland's main news agency, PA.
Follow Matt on Twitter to keep up to date with top-tier reporting, and check out his latest articles for The Athletic.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome Matt Slater!
00:20 - Insights from the FIFA Congress in Rwanda
08:25 - Matt’s role at The Athletic
10:08 - Why was the Premier League founded in 1992?
15:51 - The English football pyramid - and should more money flow down to the EFL?
19:22 - The need for an independent regulator in English football, and the ‘Owners’ and Directors’ Test’
24:56 - How did the Premier League become the most lucrative league in the world?
30:41 - Distribution of broadcasting revenues in European football
38:21 - Expansion of the Champions League, Super League, cross-border leagues, and creating an OTT streaming service
39:56 - The pandemic hurt all leagues, but hurt the Premier League the least
41:03 - How Brexit has driven up prices for Premier League prices
41:53 - Premier League clubs are putting their foot on the accelerator
43:19 - International fans have easier and cheaper access to televised Premier League games than UK fans
46:28 - Challenges for the Premier League
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