Steven Posted 12 September 2005 Share Posted 12 September 2005 This from the Grauniad. If this happens, my advice is to dump those BSkyB shares. Source Dan Milmo and Jane MartinsonMonday September 12, 2005 Broadcasters who win the rights to televise live Premier League football could be forced to sell some games to rivals under proposals drawn up by media regulator Ofcom. The plans, if adopted by the European Commission, which is investigating the sale of Premiership TV rights, would end the 13-year monopoly of satellite group BSkyB. The forthcoming auction of rights from the start of the 2007 season could see the most radical changes to domestic football coverage since the league's inception in 1992. An existing idea from the regulators could see individual broadcasters limited to 50% of the live games put up for sale, an idea that has been strongly resisted by the Premiership. The additional constraint means the winners of the rights to televise Premiership games 2007-2010 would have to sub-license the games on a "fair and non-discriminatory" basis. In practice, a broadcaster such as cable company Telewest would be able to approach a winner of the rights and demand what amounts to a secondary auction. Article continues If adopted by the EC, the notion of exclusivity would be eradicated from Premier League coverage and other broadcasters (from free-to-air operations such as Freeview to platforms such as Home Choice) would be allowed to carry premium content - a key aim of the "Lisbon Agenda" set five years ago - if they are able to pay for them. The proposals come amid escalating tension between the commission, which is determined to break up Sky's monopoly, and the league. In a letter to the commission sent late on Thursday night, the league is understood to have opposed the idea of a 50% cap as it believes that football clubs make more money from enjoying an "exclusivity premium". TV rights are the main source of income for Premiership clubs, many of whom would face hardship if their income was to fall. Commission officials have accused the league of taking a "step backwards" from an agreement made at the end of 2003, when the last three-year deal was agreed. A spokesman for the European competition commission confirmed that it would begin legal proceedings against the league "in the next few weeks". This so-called statement of objections, which in theory can lead to fines of up to a tenth of turnover, will accuse the league of breaking competition laws. "We remain determined that the rights for 2007 onwards be sold in a manner which complies with the competition rules, and in particular to the terms and conditions outlined in the provisional agreement reached between the FAPL [the league] and the commission in December 2003" said the EU official. Officials are furious that the league has not addressed EC concerns about the way live TV rights are sold. They have also accused the league of "dragging their feet" with last week's letter missing a self-imposed deadline. "It's just another manifestation of them taking the piss," said one source close to the commission. The EC made its feelings known in a letter to the Premier League in July, in which it made clear that it would be adhering to an agreement reached at the end of 2003. That deal read: "The Premier League has agreed that after 2006 the tendering procedures for TV rights will ensure that there are at least two television broadcasters of live Premier League matches: the Premier League will create balanced packages of matches showcasing the Premier League as a whole, and no one broadcaster will be allowed to buy all of the packages." Any attempt by the Premier League to present the EC with a "fait accompli" by starting the auction process before it is agreed would also be "strongly resisted". The commission wants to hold the Premiership to the earlier agreement that it would "examine, jointly with the commission, the way in which the auctions are conducted to ensure that they do not exclude potential competitors." The increasingly acrimonious spat is reminiscent of the protracted wranglings last time the three-year rights came up for grabs. The EC started legal proceedings in 2002 by filing a statement of objections. At the time, Brussels regulators were also furious that the league agreed a new contract with BSkyB before ironing out an EC-approved deal. Perhaps significantly, Sky agreed to sub-license up to eight "top quality Premier League matches" each season to another broadcaster in order to win European approval. The EC trumpeted this pledge as meaning "that for the first time in the history of the Premier League free to air television will have a realistic opportunity to show live Premier League matches". Such hopes were dashed however when no rival broadcaster met the asking price set by Sky. This time round, the EC has asked Ofcom to research the market. Its consumer research - which shows dissatisfaction among fans and frustration that too few games are shown on too few broadcasting platforms - has privately been criticised by the league. Several potential rivals to Sky have declared an interest in bidding for the rights, if the terms are right. These include cable companies NTL and Telewest and ITV, Channel 4, Five and Setanta and several private equity groups. Last week, Charles Allen, the chief executive of ITV, said eight games were not enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitesh Posted 12 September 2005 Share Posted 12 September 2005 Sounds alright. Maybe we might see some live football back on terrestrial TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CasinoGee Posted 12 September 2005 Share Posted 12 September 2005 I don't care too much about watching Prem football anymore, it's so predictable and boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 12 September 2005 Share Posted 12 September 2005 Not sure overall it's in the best interest of supporters we could end up with it on several pay channels meaning to guarantee seeing the games you want you would have to sign up for them all which would cost more and which might prove impossible. Alternatively you may need to pay per view and that could prove more expensive as well. Just imagine you, as in Leicester City ( assuming we were in the premier) could have; 3 games on Sky - kickoffs Sunday @ 4 or Monday @ 8 2 games on NTL - Kickoffs Sunday @ 2 or Tuesday @ 7.45 2 games on Sentana - Kickoffs Saturday @ 5 or Friday @ 8 1 game on the BBC - kickoff Sunday @ 12 or Friday @ 7.45 3 games on some other channel. Kick offs Saturday @ 12 or Friday @ 7.45 Bloody chaos of course nothing will be allowed to affect the almighty untouchable, buggering everything else up Champions league. Could end up like the directory enquires 'improvement' as in lots of choice, no one knowing whose showing what and when and costing twice as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamesmaster Posted 16 September 2005 Share Posted 16 September 2005 itv are planning a new sports channel. ive heard there aiming for prem pay per view games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitesh Posted 16 September 2005 Share Posted 16 September 2005 itv are planning a new sports channel. ive heard there aiming for prem pay per view games. Althought they will probably get some games through this EU deal, i doubt they will get many veiwers! Look what happened the last time ITV tried a sports channel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomassi Posted 17 September 2005 Share Posted 17 September 2005 who cares.. pubs around the country shows football il be happy with a pint and a big screen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 17 September 2005 Share Posted 17 September 2005 who cares.. pubs around the country shows football il be happy with a pint and a big screen True but that may not be the case when they are scattered across several suppliers, I would imagine a lot of pubs would baulk at the idea of paying a fee to a plethora of providers. At best they will be on but you will need to do a lot of searching to find the right pub showing the game you want. I doubt you'd see many other than those involving Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamesmaster Posted 21 September 2005 Share Posted 21 September 2005 Althought they will probably get some games through this EU deal, i doubt they will get many veiwers! Look what happened the last time ITV tried a sports channel! yeah thats true, it wasnt good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 22 September 2005 Share Posted 22 September 2005 NTL have no money to install cable in my area, so how the hell they can afford to bid for the rights to show football is beyond me. Plus, we don't live in the only area where NTL is unavailable, so unless they are prepared to make their proposed channel available through other means, we're stuffed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manwell Pablo Posted 22 September 2005 Share Posted 22 September 2005 NTL have no money to install cable in my area, so how the hell they can afford to bid for the rights to show football is beyond me. Plus, we don't live in the only area where NTL is unavailable, so unless they are prepared to make their proposed channel available through other means, we're stuffed. NTL Dont even have a sports channel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamesmaster Posted 29 September 2005 Share Posted 29 September 2005 on teletext recently it said the eurpean commision wanted to stop any tv company owning 50% of live games. what it didnt say was if that meant just in one competition or accross the domestic scene. anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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