How The Premier League Will Cash-In On Kick-Offs
Football may remain a game of two halves, but its broadcasting rights are set to be divided into a lot more parts. Yesterday’s bidding, which saw the BBC lose yet another element of its ailing sports schedule and the Premier League significantly increase its income from rights revenue will end in a complicated set of choices for the armchair supporter.
Up to 66 live matches per season will be broadcast by BSkyB on Sundays and Mondays. This represents an increase of 6 on the number it is currently allowed to broadcast, but comes at a cost £1.11bn for the next three years, in contrast to the £670m it paid for the last four years.
Having bagged the top prize, BSkyB will get first pick of the matches, on the proviso that it shows at least three games for each club in the league per season.
A further forty Premier League games will appear courtesy of NTL, which is to package them as pay-per-view. These games will go out on Sunday with the exception of three which can be shown on bank holidays.
Matches are not allowed to clash with BSkyB offerings, but this would benefit NTL anyway, as it intends to offer rival Sky Digital viewers the chance to pay for its matches, along with its own customers.
NTL gets second choice of which matches to show, but is not allowed to show more than eight matches per season from the same club.
The deal causing sentimental outbursts among hard-bitten fans was the one struck by ITV, which some say sounds the death-knell for the much-loved Match of the Day. Having already poached Des Lynam, ITV succeeded with a £183m bid in securing the right to screen Saturday and Sunday night highlights of the days’ matches.
The Saturday programme, which must go out after 7pm, will show edited highlights of three Premier League matches and three minute clips of others. The Sunday programmes can include highlights of two matches not shown live on the day as well as three-minute excerpts from others. ITV also has the option of a Saturday morning preview programme using three minute clips.
These will not be the only options for fans, however. Individual clubs with in-house television stations will be able to show their own matches on a delayed basis and those with websites will be able to webcast them after midnight on Mondays. The League is also said to be planning experimental WAP and video on demand, ensuring that the explosion in information technology brings in maximum income for the top end of the game.
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