[Media Boy UK]

Incoming Virgin Media chief rules out war with Sky for football rights.

Asked whether Virgin Media would bid for the Premiership at the next rights auction, Mockridge said: "The short answer is no. There's plenty of other people prepared to bid good money for football. Our strategy has been invest in content opportunistically but not bet the ranch on it."

However, he left the door open to expanding the footprint of Virgin's cable network, which currently reaches half of the UK population, with the rest served mainly by BT's network.

"There might be other ways of expanding the reach of Virgin Media, it's too soon to say. It is something we will look at more closely but we are not proclaiming any strategic areas here today."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013...e-sky-football