Premier League to launch its own streaming platform

The Premier League is launching a Netflix-style direct-to-customer streaming platform from next season, chief executive Richard Masters said Thursday. Premier League Plus will be launched initially in Singapore and, if successful, could be “replicated all around the world.” “It’s a very long, considered process, carefully chosen,” Masters said at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London.

“For the first time the Premier League is going to have its own customers. It’s going to have to deal with promotion, pricing, churn, distribution and all of those things, we’re looking to build a business. “We’re also looking to learn, to see how that might be replicated all around the world.” The new platform could eventually transform the way fans consume the most popular league in the world, which says it has a global audience of 1.87 billion people and is watched in 189 countries.

It had long been rumored that the league would launch a “Premflix” platform. It has previously always sold its rights to independent broadcasters such as Sky Sports in England and NBC in the United States. It is also opening a new Premier League Studios production hub in London. “What we do with Premier League Plus in Singapore is really about learning as well as building the business,” Masters said. “If it goes well, it may be replicated.