New fear over Premier kick-off times

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A study from Deloitte reveals topflight English football has surged past Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga with an estimated audience of one billion watching Arsenal's thrilling draw with Manchester United last Saturday.

Watching brief: Arsenal fans following Saturday's big match against Manchester United in Hong Kong would like earlier starting times

The Premier League doubled the cost of their overseas rights to £625m this season - and soon foreign television companies may have to match the £1.7billion paid for the domestic rights by Sky and Setanta.

Dan Jones, a partner in the sports business group at Deloitte, said: "The Premier League has accelerated away from every other league. I can think of no other example of overseas rights overtaking the domestic rights."

The Premier League's success will lure further foreign investment - and encourage more unconventional kick-off times. Between now and Christmas, Liverpool and Arsenal will play just one match at 3pm on a Saturday.

Premier League games are broadcast to 600 millions homes in 202 countries.

Amid this boom, former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has predicted that up to three more Premier League clubs will come under foreign ownership within the next year.

Dein was kicked out of Arsenal in April and subsequently sold his stake in the club to Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov for £75million.

Shooting off at the mouth: Cesc Fabregas (No 4) was anything but magnanimous after Arsenal's last-gasp equaliser

Dein, now chairman of Usmanov's investment vehicle, Red and White Holdings, said: "Two or three clubs are looking for new owners and this will happen within the next 12 months.

"The Premier League is a hot product because it has brought the best players in the world to England."