How much do Arsenal earn from TV, matchday and commercial revenue?

Paul Macdonald

• 26 Mar 2023 20:00 BST
• 5 min read

The 2023 version of the Deloitte Money List has been released and it shows the various sources of revenue for the top 20 clubs in world football.

The list is dominated by the Premier League, with 11 of its 20 entrants coming from there, while 16 of the top 30 are based in England.

HOW DO ARSENAL EARN REVENUE?

Arsenal’s revenue generation comes from three distinct places; matchday revenue, broadcast revenue and commercial revenue. These three areas combine to create a club’s overall revenue for a season.

READ MORE: How much do Man Utd earn from TV, matchday and commercial revenue?

WHAT IS MATCHDAY REVENUE?

Matchday revenue consists of all revenue generated on a matchday. This includes ticket sales, food and merchandise, as well as hospitality offerings. Arsenal’s move to the Emirates at the end of the 2006 season was mainly to provide access to a huge number of fans which had been shut out in the notorious small Highbury, which Arsenal had outgrown.

As a result Arsenal’s attendance, ticket sales and also their position in central London, coupled with hospitality options, meant that when Arsenal were competing in Champions League football, their matchday revenue was one of the most competitive among all the major teams in Europe.

But their consistent failure to qualify for the Champions League in recent seasons, instead competing in the Europa League, has seen matchday revenue decline by around 30% in that time. However most of their underlying numbers are strong, and a return to the CL, which seems more than likely at the end of the 2022/23 season, will see this number return to 2016 levels, and perhaps higher.

WHAT IS COMMERCIAL REVENUE?

Commercial revenue is everything related to the overall sponsorship and brand activities of a football club. In the modern game this takes on many additional forms. Previously the only additional commercial revenue would be related to in-stadium advertising and perhaps a shirt sponsor arrangement.

But now various parts of real estate attached to the club can be monetised; everything from sleeve sponsors, to sponsors of the stadiums themselves, commercial managers are looking at any possible way to successfully generate revenue by building relationships with a whole host of brands.

Arsenal’s commercial side of the business is producing higher revenues than ever before, but they remain slightly limited in their scope because of limited success on the field. The team haven’t been seriously competing for the league for some time, while their participation in the Champions League has been frozen out for a succession of seasons.

But that looks certain to change this year. As a result, Arsenal’s capacity for more valuable commercial deals will increase going into next season.

WHAT IS BROADCASTING REVENUE?

Broadcasting revenue relates to monies earned by the negotiation of showing a club’s matches domestically and internationally in each competition they are entered into.

Domestic TV deals are the most lucrative, with the country in which the league is played happy to pay inflated fees to fill their broadcast schedules with as many football matches as possible. Leagues are also free to negotiate with individual countries and regions to show their matches in that territory.

The size of the foreign deals are directly correlated to how popular the league is in that market. In that respect, Arsenal, being from the Premier League, are fortunate to have a number of high value contracts in hundreds of world markets, with notable deals in the USA, Scandinavia and Asia. The EPL’s marketability abroad has made clubs like Arsenal wealthy, with the expansion of that potential likely to continue for years to come.

Arsenal are a main beneficiary of the extensive TV deals that the EPL has been able to sign, but their poor performance and inability to qualify for the Champions League has capped the scope of their broadcast revenue.

But they remain in a hugely strong position; the negotiated international TV contracts will send revenue ever higher from next season - with a potential Champions League bounty to follow.

TOTAL REVENUE

Arsenal’s recent on-pitch underachievement has impacted all three areas of revenue over recent seasons; matchday has reduced as a result of no Champions League and this has reduced the scope of both broadcasting and commercial revenue, too.

But Mikel Arteta’s side are on an upward trajectory and with at least a top four position almost secured, all revenue elements are likely to increase in the next few seasons.