West Ham are set for an immense windfall in increased broadcast revenue – despite mounting losses for the club.
Academic and football finance expert Kieran Maguire, writing for Football Insider, offered some incisive analysis after the Hammers published their most recent set of accounts covering the previous season.
Turnover at the London Stadium amounted to £139.5 million, down by £51.2m on the previous financial year.
The club also posted a £65.3m loss compared to a reduced £27.2m shortfall over the previous financial year- but there is nonetheless cause for optimism.
With potential European broadcast revenue factored in, Maguire issued a positive update on how the next few sets of accounts may look:
“The reduction in broadcast revenue is going to bounce back for two reasons,” he told Football Insider.
“First of all, in 2019-20, they’ve got a 31 May year-end. They’d only played 32 games in that period so they lost out there.
“Because their next set of accounts is covering the 1 June 2020 to the 31 May 2021, they’ll actually have around 44 or 45 games taking place in that period.
“So I’d expect a substantial increase in terms of broadcast revenue. There is also the fact that you get quite a bit of additional income for every position higher up the table you are.
“If they finish 4th, 5th or 6th compared to where they were last season. If you multiply that for every position they finish higher, they could have a substantial improvement.
“If they do get into the Champions League next season, that’s a minimum of an extra £40m there as well.”
The report also notes that the club has taken out a £120m loan with a private lender in MSD Holdings to cope with the losses.
Opinion
Maguire’s analysis underlines just how revolutionary West Ham’s strong form could be.
Along with a general increase in matches played, European football offers a significant broadcast revenue cushion to supplement higher league finishes.
That could concoct a perfect cocktail of financial foundations to underpin a smaller deficit for the club.
