Television Revenue: The Economic Pulse of European Football

Television rights revenue has emerged as the primary economic gauge of European football, serving as a decisive factor in assessing the actual competitiveness of each league. The distribution of audiovisual funds not only affects clubs’ abilities to acquire and retain talent but also delineates the structural differences across competitions. The latest financial distributions among major leagues present a clear snapshot: while some competitions achieve record revenues and deepen their growth models, others confront stagnation or even outright crises.

The Premier League continues to stand out as the leading economic reference in European football regarding television rights income. Liverpool leads the way with £181.5 million, closely followed by Arsenal (£177.8 million) and Manchester City (£171.5 million).

Notably, it is not only the figures of the top clubs that matter but also the depth of the revenue distribution: mid-tier clubs such as Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion surpass £145 million, while even the lowest-earning teams exceed £100 million.

In LaLiga, television income remains concentrated at the top of the table. Real Madrid tops the distribution with €157.52 million, narrowly ahead of FC Barcelona (€156.45 million). Atlético Madrid trails at a distance, surpassing €108 million.

The contrast becomes evident in the mid to lower tiers, where historic clubs like Valencia CF and Real Betis earn between €50 and €65 million, while newly promoted or less prominent teams struggle to reach €40 million.

The Bundesliga exhibits a more homogeneous model, albeit with a lower ceiling compared to the English and Spanish leagues. FC Bayern München leads with €103 million, followed closely by Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, both nearing €90 million.

Beyond that, most clubs operate within a range of €50 to €70 million, which ensures a degree of financial stability but diminishes international competitive capacity against Premier League giants.

In Italy, Serie A maintains a more restrained distribution. Inter leads television revenues with €81.9 million, while Napoli, Juventus, and AC Milan cluster around €67 million.

The lower half of the table reflects significant budget adjustments, with several clubs earning below €35 million, a figure that constrains their ability to compete both in Europe and in the transfer market.

The situation in Ligue 1 is radically different. The French league is undergoing a severe crisis following the collapse of its television contracts. Clubs will share barely €80.5 million from traditional audiovisual rights, alongside an estimated €152 million from their own platform, Ligue 1+.

The absence of official club data and failed agreements with operators like DAZN create an economic emergency scenario, threatening massive player sales and widening the gap with other major leagues.

The overall analysis confirms a clear trend: the Premier League operates in a different dimension, with revenues that double or even triple those of other major competitions. LaLiga sustains two giants with figures comparable to English clubs but suffers from significant internal inequality. Both Bundesliga and Serie A favor more balanced distributions, albeit with lesser total impact, while Ligue 1 faces a structural crisis that perilously distances it from the upper echelons of European economic football. The result is an increasingly imbalanced financial landscape where the ability to compete hinges as much on pitch performance as on the value of broadcasting rights.