(Bloomberg) -- The English Premier League has given smaller clubs data that show they'll still be playing in the fairest soccer league in Europe, even if they accept a controversial rule change that would grant bigger clubs a greater share of the 1 billion pounds-plus ($1.34 billion) annual haul from overseas broadcast revenues.
The most successful club would earn twice the broadcast revenue of the bottom club, according to figures shown to 14 smaller clubs who met Wednesday ahead of next week's full Premier League meeting. Currently, the top club earns 1.5 times the amount that accrues to the bottom club, according to figures seen by Bloomberg News.
The proposal by the Premier League's biggest clubs threatens to shatter what has been a harmonious coexistence between team owners that's been a key reason for the league's success over the past two decades. Premier League Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore is keen to maintain unity ahead of the league's upcoming talks over the next domestic rights auction.
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While England's smaller clubs would get less, they'd still receive a greater share of broadcast revenues than their rivals in other European Leagues. In Italy, the ratio stands at 4.7 to 1 in favor of the most successful club. The ratio in the French League is 3.4 to 1.
In Spain, it's 3.5 to 1, according to the league's data -- and that figure has come down. Before the 2015/16 season, when Spanish clubs negotiated their own broadcast rights, Real Madrid and Barcelona raked in up to 12 times the revenue of small La Liga clubs. “La Liga has been working hard to get a fair distribution of broadcast revenues,” said Joris Evers, a spokesman for the league.
England's top clubs, which include Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, argue that overseas audiences have much more interest in watching their matches than those involving some of the other clubs; and they also have greater broadcast responsibilities to carry out, such as providing multiple interviews with managers and players.
Next year, the Premier League will seek a new broadcast deal to replace the one that runs out after next season. The current deal attracted 5.1 billion pounds over three years, resulting in Sky and BT Group buying the live rights, with the BBC winning a highlights package.
This year's auction is expected to pique the interest of Amazon and Facebook, who recently unsuccessfully bid $600 million for rights to Indian cricket. Manchester United's vice chairman Ed Woodward recently said he expected the likes of Amazon and Facebook to enter the auction.
Wednesday's meeting will discuss issues such the number of packages that will be put out to tender, as well as the number of matches that will be broadcast.
The controversial rule change requires 14 or more clubs to vote it through, risking a damaging split within the league at a crucial time.
To contact the reporters on this story: David Hellier in London at dhellier@bloomberg.net, Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jacqueline Simmons at jackiem@bloomberg.net, Anthony Palazzo, Ville Heiskanen
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