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The Birmingham City co-owner Tom Wagner has said the EFL should sign a single global broadcast deal to grow the competition and showcase its “giant underdog mentality” to the world.
Wagner, who led a consortium of investors that included the NFL legend Tom Brady in taking over Birmingham in 2023, argues the Football League should concentrate on growing its revenues and audience rather than focusing on a redistribution deal with the Premier League, which has stalled for two years despite government pressure.
Speaking at The Summit, part of Leaders Week in London, Wagner was asked if he thought the EFL should consider striking a deal with a platform such as Netflix or Amazon. “I do,” he said. “I think that there’s an enormous opportunity for the EFL to create a broader distribution platform. And the reason I feel that way is because the quality of football is great. The storylines are great. There’s a lot to root for. It’s a giant underdog mentality, which, at least in the US, is massively appealing, and I suspect it would be elsewhere as well.”
Reliable access to coverage of a competition, Wagner argued, helps to build fandom, an example he substantiated by talking about his gym habits. “I tend to torture myself in long workouts on Saturday and Sunday mornings,” he said. “When you’re pedalling away to nowhere, there’s a lot of media to consume. And I love when you begin to see Championship games broadcast. You know that when you can get it on your treadmill, that you’ve made it.”
On the question of redistribution, Wagner called for a change of focus. “I think the best way to explain it is, rather than focusing on how we distribute an existing pie, we grow the pie,” he said. “We spend our time energy thinking about how we grow the overall revenue streams and interest in English football. If we’re able to do that, everybody benefits more than distributing an existing set of revenue streams in a different way. My comment has always been that we if we focus on growing the sport that we all win.”
Birmingham head to north Wales this weekend to take on another Championship club with famous American owners and a documentary series. Wagner said the rivalry Birmingham have developed with Ryan Reynolds’ and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham has benefited both clubs and is an example of the compelling stories football can create.
“It’s great for both of us,” Wagner said. “And I have enormous respect for Ryan and Rob … they’re good people, and they’re doing a good thing. What they’ve done in Wrexham is amazing.
“The people in Wrexham are incredible, period, full stop. It’s a wonderful place to go and visit and enjoy a football match. And that’s what I love about it.”
