Every market has a top, middle and bottom.
The Premier League is among a small global elite of sports rights holders which is doing just fine, thank you. Billions of dollars in media revenue chases must-see content.
But even within the league, different business models apply.
The elite 'top four, or six' are chasing European football, and with it an additional pot of TV money flowing from UEFA competitions.
Then there's the rest. The clubs that exist outside that bubble, for whom life is harder, struggling to perform on the pitch on reduced budgets, while fighting off the cataclysmic economic shock that is relegation to the Championship.
This is the Premier League's version of the squeezed middle, between the top six and the EFL.
This podcast looks at the commercial options open to those clubs, with our guest Charlie Boss, Chief Commercial Officer of Southampton Football Club, which was relegated from the Premier League last season.
Charlie joins Squeezed Middle regular Ben Wells, CEO of PTI Digital, the strategy and technology consultancy, who previously held senior commercial roles at Chelsea FC, Reading FC and Bath Rugby.
See here for previous episodes of The Squeezed Middle.
This podcast is sponsored by Leaders Week London.
Who could you be joining at Twickenham Stadium on October 18th and 19th?
Across the Summit, over 1,800 of the most senior figures in the sport business will be there, from Amazon to the Premier League, adidas to Spotify.
This is your opportunity to meet and rub-shoulders with executives from across the sport business ecosystem, to reconnect with old friends and reminisce about your past experiences from Leaders Weeks gone by.
And as a listener to Unofficial Partner, you can get take advantage of a 15% discount on your Summit passes - just use UP15 at the point of purchase.
Visit leadersinsport.com/UP for more information.
Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry.
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Unofficial Partner Podcast