Everton: Paul Brown slams 777 Partners after £6bn+ Premier League announcement
Paul Brown has slammed prospective new Everton owners 777 Partners suggesting their business plan “does not add up” after the latest Premier League media deal was agreed.
The Premier League have agreed to a new four-year domestic media rights deal which will start in the 2025/26 campaign, which represents a four per cent increase in funding, half of the eight per cent 777 forecast in its Project Echo [The Esk, 5 December].
Now that the number of games broadcast by domestic media outlets has increased, the percentage actually decreases on a game-by-game basis.
Writing on his own personal Twitter account (5 December) he said: “And actually less than four per cent on a per-game basis. Somebody’s business model does not add up.”
More questionable business
Since it was announced that 777 Partners had agreed on a deal to acquire Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1 per cent stake in Everton, it feels like bad news and controversy have surrounded the Miami-based company every step of the way whether it be their work on the field or off it.
A number of supporters from their clubs around the world have been vocal in their unhappiness with their owners while they have seemed to pray on clubs that are currently struggling financially without particularly improving their fortunes on the pitch.
This latest miscalculation in their business plan seems like nothing more than an attempt to spin the prospect of investing in Project Echo as a better idea than it actually is. If anything the new media deal has made the broadcasting rights less of an incentive than it previously was to invest in the Toffees.
Everton already have an owner who hasn’t been particularly helpful for their fortunes in Moshiri, but as more and more emerges about 777 Partners, it seems as though they don’t offer a much better alternative for Sean Dyche’s side.
777 are still waiting for approval from the Premier League and the Financial Conduct Authority, but with how long the process is taking, you have to wonder if the takeover will be approved.
In other Everton news, one Newcastle star is set to miss months of action including the clash with the Toffees later this week