The TV revenue for one of the biggest clubs in the world has fallen in the first quarter of 2012. Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in the world in terms of revenue and history. They compete with the likes of the Spanish club Real Madrid for top spot in the annual rich league. However, they will find it tough to compete with the Spanish club this time around due to the fall in earnings. The core earnings of the club as has dropped by 15% for the first quarter mainly due to the drop in the TV revenue.
Manchester United had a disappointing 2011-12 season, as they finished without any major trophy for the first time 2005. They also exited major European and domestic cup competitions at an early stage, which meant that their TV earnings have suffered quite substantially last season. The club also got a pretty disappointing result for the first quarter of this year, as they were able to play just one Champions League game during this period. They also received less money from TV based on the pooling system. The club’s total earnings for the first quarter look extremely decent due to the substantial increase in commercial revenue through various sponsorship deals.
“Manchester United had a record first quarter driven by our commercial operation, which continues to experience extremely strong global revenue growth in new media & mobile, retail merchandising & sponsorship,” said the executive vice-chairman of the club after announcing the first quarter results for the year 2012. The club was recently listed in the New York Stock Exchange, but has since fared poorly due to the concerns about the rising debts. Manchester United recently signed a major deal with the US car manufacturer Chevrolet worth more than £ 350 million for seven years.