The Premier League has come close to launching a Netflix-style service for live football that would sidestep traditional broadcasters.

The streaming service was due to be tested in Singapore. However, the league pulled back from the project late last year and instead sold three seasons of television rights to Singtel, the Singaporean telecoms giant.

The prospect of a Premier League streaming platform would strike fear into the hearts of pay-TV broadcasters such as Sky, which use English football’s top tier to attract subscribers.

The Premier League has been hunting for ways to boost its finances since its income from domestic TV rights dropped at the last auction.

The total price fell from £5.1bn for three seasons from 2016-17 to £4.6bn for the same period from