Six of the top 20 most commercially valuable rights-holders worldwide are from the English Premier League, according to a newly-launched sponsorship evaluation engine called the POWA index.
The analysis was compiled using artificial intelligence to rank the commercial impact of sponsorship rights-holders, analysing data points across social media reach, social media engagement, on-field performances and online searches.
According to the research, the NBA sits tops of the global table with Real Madrid in second and Barcelona in third. Real Madrid was knocked-off the top spot by the NBA when the club sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus.
The strength in depth of Premier League clubs worldwide is evident with Manchester United in sixth position closely followed by Arsenal (9th), Liverpool (10th), Chelsea (13th) and Manchester City (18th) The Premier League itself finished in fifth position.
DataPOWA chief executive and POWA Index Commissioner, Michael Flynn, who spoke at the SportBusiness Summit in Miami last month, said the Premier League has been able “to enhance its value even further by replacing one title sponsor (Barclays) with a range of globally famous brands including Coca-Cola, Nike, EA, and Cadbury”.
Overall, football is the leading sport in the POWA Index with 13 rights-holders in the top 20 including the Uefa Champions League (seventh) and the Fifa World Cup (15th).