Premier League domestic TV rights deal could be concluded this week, admits Manchester United CEO Ed Woodward

The deal is likely to be announced within 'a couple of weeks'

Ed Woodward announced the financial figures on Thursday (Getty)

The Premier League domestic TV rights sale for 2019-2022 could be concluded as early as Friday, but is more likely to be within “a couple of weeks”, Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has revealed.

The Old Trafford official was speaking at the announcement of the club’s latest financial results from the last fiscal quarter, and had been asked about the TV rights by an investor in the first question of the subsequent conference call.

“I need to be careful around this, Woodward said. “It’s a very sensitive point in time. The first round of domestic bids is due in tomorrow [Friday]. All I can really say is if you look at past history we would expect the entire process of selling the domestic rights will conclude in a relatively short period of time, in a couple of weeks.”

Sky and BT have broadcast the Premier League in the UK live since 2013, with the last sale in 2015 bringing the overall value of the rights to £5.14bn and £10m a game.

Beyond the domestic market, such figures and the manner that live streaming has influenced traditional TV watching has led to speculation that companies like Amazon and Facebook could bid for the international rights. Woodward however argued that global cumulative TV audiences have increased 9% year on year.