Premier League TV rights: Five of seven live packages sold for £4.464bn

BBC sports editor Dan Roan

For now, the boom years appear to be over when it comes to the Premier League’s domestic TV rights.

As predicted, the threat of a tech giant providing competition for the main packages of rights did not materialise, and the recent content-sharing agreement between Sky and BT seems to have effectively ended a fierce rivalry that drove the remarkable 70% increases in the past two deals.

Dominant broadcaster Sky will pay significantly less per game than they did for the current £5.1bn deal. And even though Amazon may still be sniffing around, it seems the two remaining packages are unsold because the reserve prices have not been reached. If so, the overall value of the rights could actually fall.

The blow will be softened by overseas rights, which look set to rise sharply in value and which will continue to drive the richest league in the world’s phenomenal commercial success. But it may mean the bigger clubs renew their efforts to claim more of the spoils.

What is certain is that after another record transfer window in which Alexis Sanchez secured a reported £600,000-a-week move to Manchester United, these rights will still renew debate about the influence of TV money, whether enough of it is reaching the grassroots of the game, and whether too much is ending up in the pockets of agents.