A major chapter in Premier League broadcasting is coming to an end, with IMG’s Premier League Productions completing its final round of match coverage after more than two decades producing international content for England’s top flight competition.
The partnership, which began in 2004, helped carry Premier League matches and supporting programming to broadcasters and audiences around the world. From the start of the 2026/27 season, the league will take direct control of its international media production and distribution through a new in-house operation, a move unanimously approved by clubs in 2024.
For IMG, the handover marks the close of one of the most influential production relationships in global sport. For the Premier League, it signals a new phase in which the competition wants greater control over how its content is created, packaged and potentially delivered directly to fans.
Final Farewell for Premier League Productions Staff
Ahead of the final matchday under the existing arrangement, IMG executives Barney Francis and John Hollywood joined staff at a final monthly gathering for the Premier League Productions team. The meeting served as a farewell moment for employees who have spent years delivering live matches, studio programming, digital content and international broadcast support for the league. Current Premier League Productions chief executive Nick Morgan also addressed the team, while former IMG sports production executive Graham Fry returned to discuss how the operation had developed since its earliest years.
What began with coverage of only a handful of live games each week and several magazine programmes eventually grew into a large-scale global media service producing live football, studio shows, social content, digital features and archive based storytelling for international broadcast partners.
Premier League Takes Greater Control of Its Global Content
From next season, the Premier League will operate its international media production internally through Premier League Studios. The decision reflects the increasing commercial power of the competition, which now attracts global audiences through clubs such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, as well as stars including Erling Haaland, Bukayo Saka and Bruno Fernandes. When the move was first announced, the Premier League said taking production and distribution in house would allow it to maintain a high-quality content service while gaining closer control of its international media business.
The official announcement stated that Premier League Productions had supported broadcasters and hundreds of millions of supporters in more than 180 countries, producing coverage of all 380 league matches each season alongside a wide range of supporting programmes.
IMG Says Premier League Ownership Was Eventually Expected
Although losing a major production contract represents a significant commercial change for IMG, its leadership has described the transition as understandable. Barney Francis said discussions had taken place over how the partnership might evolve, with both IMG and the Premier League looking for improved production methods and greater efficiency.
However, he acknowledged that it was natural for a competition with the Premier League’s scale and international value to eventually want ownership of its own media operation. The league’s international broadcast income has grown into one of its most valuable assets. Greater control over production could also give the Premier League more flexibility if it expands direct to consumer services in international markets in the future.
The league has already confirmed that its own streaming service, Premier League+, will launch in Singapore for the 2026/27 season, marking its first direct relationship with paying viewers in an overseas market.
Two Decades of Change in Sports Broadcasting
The Premier League Productions operation changed dramatically during its time under IMG. In its early years, the service operated around traditional television programming and a smaller weekly match schedule. Over time, it developed into a sophisticated production operation based at Stockley Park, delivering live games, studio coverage, digital clips, social content and documentary style features.
IMG and the Premier League also moved through several major technological shifts together, including the transition from standard definition to high definition and later to 4K coverage. According to the Premier League’s original announcement, the partnership played a central role in growing international audiences and raising the standard of sports broadcast production around the world.
Non Live Stories Became a Key Part of the Product
Live matches were only one part of the service developed through Premier League Productions. Francis highlighted the importance of feature content that helped international audiences connect more deeply with players and clubs. One example was a story about Jack Grealish and young fan Finlay Fisher, whose friendship became widely followed after Grealish performed a goal celebration requested by the boy.
Francis said the feature attracted tens of millions of views worldwide, showing how emotional storytelling around the league could add value beyond match coverage. For international broadcasters, this type of material allowed them to build richer programming around the Premier League and connect local audiences with players whose stories reached beyond football results.
New In-House Operation Faces High Expectations
The arrival of Premier League Studios gives the league full control, but it also brings major responsibility. Building and operating an international production operation requires significant investment, technical capability and editorial expertise. The new unit will need to continue supplying broadcasters with live match coverage, supporting content, archive material and digital programming at the level audiences have come to expect.
IMG executives pointed in particular to the scale of archive access and content tools created during the partnership, which allowed broadcasters to quickly retrieve historic Premier League moments and build programming around individual players, clubs and national audiences. Iconic footage such as Sergio Aguero’s title winning goal for Manchester City against Queens Park Rangers in 2012 became part of a content library used repeatedly by international media partners.
IMG Looks Beyond the Premier League
Despite the end of the Premier League Productions era, IMG remains active across several major sports properties. The company continues to work on production and media operations for competitions including the English Football League, Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League. IMG renewed its international media rights relationship with the Saudi Pro League in 2025, while its production facilities in Stockley Park continue to support large volumes of global sports content.
Hollywood said the shift gives IMG an opportunity to reconsider its future production model, technical systems and staffing plans while pursuing new projects in different sports. For the company, replacing a contract of this scale will not be straightforward. However, its executives believe the capabilities built through decades of Premier League work can now be applied elsewhere.
A Broadcast Partnership That Helped Shape the Premier League Era
The conclusion of IMG’s work on Premier League Productions arrives at a symbolic moment for English football, as Arsenal celebrate a title-winning season after a 22 year wait. For more than two decades, IMG helped present the Premier League to international audiences as the competition expanded into one of the world’s most valuable sporting properties.
The next stage will see the Premier League take that responsibility directly into its own hands. For IMG, the final matchday is not only the end of a contract, but the end of a broadcasting era that helped turn English club football into a global media product.