The world’s insatiable appetite for all things Premier League shows no sign of abating. 212 territories now devour content produced by IMG in west London as part of a massive multi-million pound contract for overseas rights. I have had a real insight into the global reach of England’s top flight by presenting some of the programmes this season.

The world’s insatiable appetite for all things Premier League shows no sign of abating. 212 territories now devour content produced by IMG in west London as part of a massive multi-million pound contract for overseas rights. I have had a real insight into the global reach of England’s top flight by presenting some of the programmes this season.

IMG is a worldwide sports and media company who deliver much of that programming as well as providing a good source of work for jobbing broadcasters like me. They screen all 380 matches each season and countless other highlights, news, phone-in and preview shows which the foreign market laps up. The potential TV audience for Premier League games is put at a whopping 4.7 billion across the globe making it the most watched league in the world.

So, what are the programmes that fans abroad are watching? “Fanzone” is a daily Premier League phone-in often hosted by the former West Ham and Fulham striker Leroy Rosenior. I occasionally play Jacqui Oatley to Leroy’s Manish Bhasin, for those who remember the early days of the BBC’s “Football League Show”, reading out emails and texts.

The audience response is remarkable. One minute Kenrick, a Liverpool fan from Jamaica, is waxing lyrical about Brendan Rogers. The next Emmanuel from Nigeria is desperate to debate Chelsea’s title chances. The calls and emails come in thick and fast from across the globe and all the contributors speak with real passion and genuine knowledge.

There are three half hour Premier League news bulletins every weekday at noon, 6pm and 10pm. I present some of those on a Monday. On match days the building becomes a revolving door for some of the top pundits. Andy Townsend, Michael Owen, Ian Wright and Alan Curbishley are all regular visitors and familiar faces for the overseas audiences as well as domestic ones.

On a recent trip to Johannesburg to open a new fan park, the Premier League’s Chief Executive Richard Scudamore acknowledged the massive demand for English football abroad. “There’s nowhere that enjoys the Premier League more than here in South Africa,” he said. “It’s quite incredible. All the research shows there are more people who are interested in it here than there are at home as a percentage of the population.”

Only a fraction of the material produced for the overseas market ever gets aired here but you may well catch some of it if you travel abroad during the football season. It is worth bearing in mind that the next time your club splashes out tens of millions of pounds on a new star player they are able to do so in part because of the worldwide appeal of the English game.