The English Premier League is relatively new having been formed in 1992 from the old English First Division. The formation of the Premier League proceeded similar changes to the English Second Division which was renamed the Championship in 2004.
The league is currently sponsored by Barclays Bank and referred to as the Barclays Premier League but in the rest of the footballing world it is referred to as the English Premier League or EPL.
The English Premier League is the pinnacle of men’s professional football in England and is contested by 20 clubs. The season runs from August to May and each of the 20 teams play a total 38 football matches over the season. The vast majority of games are played on weekend afternoons with some games on week day evenings, usually dictated by television coverage.
The formation of the EPL was in response to First Division Clubs attempts to break away from the Football League and negotiate their own television rights which, in the emerging digital age, had become very lucrative. Sky Television paid an extraordinary sum in 1992 to get exclusive rights for premier league coverage (coverage is still worth £1Billion today) which meant for the first time top flight English football would not be available on terrestrial television other than as highlights.
The English Premier League is the most watched football league in the world and is shown in most countries with an interest in professional football around the world. In some markets, such as Asia, the EPL is so popular that it eclipses their own football leagues coverage and generates high revenues for some EPL clubs.