Barclays renews Premier League sponsorship

LONDON: British bank Barclays has extended its global sponsorship of English Premier League soccer until 2016 in a new three-year deal worth 40 million pounds ($62 million) annually, the Premier League said yesterday.
Barclays is looking for a new boss after it admitted errors in an interest rate-rigging scandal that led to the resignation of chief executive Bob Diamond, who supports Premier League club Chelsea.
The new deal will run from 2013 to 2016. The current arrangement that expires at the end of the 2012/13 season has seen Barclays pay 27.5 million pounds per year.
The new terms were another sign of the appeal of the Premier League, which recently secured a 70 percent increase in the value of its domestic TV rights.
The deal gives Barclays global title sponsorship of the League and exclusive worldwide marketing rights. It will extend a partnership dating back to 2001.
The Premier League, won last season by Manchester City, is broadcast to 650 million homes worldwide.