Ajit Karn
One of the most successful brands in gaming is still the FIFA series of football video games from EA Sports. The FIFA series has grown to become one of the most popular sports video game brands in the world because to the company’s licence agreements, which have enabled the games to incorporate actual club and player names. And while the team is about to give up the well-known FIFA name for the first time after failing to reach an agreement for licenced use of the name with the organisation that governs world football, it is reportedly getting close to a huge agreement to keep the rights to the Premier League, England’s top-tier football league. For the licence rights to all 20 Premier League teams, EA Sports has agreed to pay GBP 488 million ($588 million, or around Rs. 4,861 crore).
According to a report by Sky Sports on Friday, the 20 Premier League teams were briefed at a meeting on a new, six-year contract with EA Sports that is estimated to be worth GBP 488 million. The report claims that the agreement is almost done.
According to a club official quoted in the newspaper, the new agreement would bring in more than GBP 80 million (or about Rs. 796 crore) every year for the league. According to the deal, EA Sports will continue to be the Premier League’s primary partner and will own the exclusive licence rights for both the well-known league and its internationally renowned clubs, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea. According to reports, the new pact between the Premier League and EA is worth more than twice as much as the previous one.
The Premier League continues to be the world’s most seen and widely-followed club football league, and its financial clout draws the top players, coaches, and business partners. The lucrative local and international broadcast rights, which are estimated to be worth over £10 billion, are a major source of its financial clout.
Following a collaboration of over three decades, EA announced last year that it was ending its relationship with FIFA, the organisation that governs the world of football. According to rumours, FIFA had asked EA for $1 billion every four years in order to keep utilising its brand. EA Sports also disclosed that their FIFA series will start using the EA Sports FC brand in 2023 after the two companies were unable to reach an agreement on a new licence agreement. FIFA 23, a football game by EA Sports that was published in September of last year, will be the last title to have the recognisable FIFA branding.
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The yearly football video game series from EA is still one of the industry’s most lucrative games, despite a name change. The FIFA video game franchise has sold 325 million units as of 2021. With more than 10.3 million gamers logging in during the game’s first week of availability, FIFA 23 enjoyed a record-breaking release in September. This is the most ever for the series. On September 30, FIFA 23 became available on all popular consoles, including the PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Later this year, the newest EA Sports football game is anticipated to release.
