Sky Tight Lipped As Football Rights Debated

Newspaper reports over the weekend suggest that the European Commission could be close to a deal with the Football Association to re-think the sale of television football rights in Britain.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, the EC is close to a deal “in principle” to split coverage of the Premier League tournament into six packages of 23 games.

The new regulations could see BSkyB’s dominance of football coverage dented, as no one broadcaster will be allowed the rights to all six packages. However, BSkyB could secure the rights for up to five packages, securing over 83% of English Premier League football matches between 2007 and 2010.

BSkyB refused to comment on the speculation, although it is likely to face competition from Britain’s newly consolidated cable firm, formed from ntl and Telewest, which is reportedly preparing a bid of around £200 million to unsettle the satellite giant’s Premiership dominance (see Cable Giants Set To Make Premiership Bid).

BskyB: 0207 705 3000 www.sky.com