Thread: General ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
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Old 10-01-2014, 13:21   #4167
OLD BOY
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Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chad View Post
It's an interesting prospect, similar to the joint bid by Channel 5 and ESPN for the Europa League rights a few years back:

http://www.theguardian.com/media/200...pa-league-espn

Is there a minimum bid requirement for the Premiership rights? If no other broadcaster showed interest, and SKY and BT did make a joint bid, what would stop them from making a silly offer i.e. half of what they currently pay for the rights? That might force the Premer League to launch their own football channel, which would be available on all TV platforms. A standardised subscription fee accross the board regarless of who your TV provider is. All fixtures shown on just 1 channel, if that would be allowed. No need to subscribe to both SKY and BT to catch all the action.
Exactly right. A minimum bid requirement set too high would not be much cop if it didn't produce the bids.

Unfortunately, I can't see Sky and BT making a silly offer because this would put them in peril of another company coming in to snap up the rights. But certainly, I would have thought there was room to reduce the price paid to more acceptable and sustainable levels.

How this is managed in practice is another matter. The two companies could decide between them to show all the matches, or they could divide the spoils between them. They could even decide to sell some of the matches to other TV channels if the Premiership rules allowed it.

One way or the other, something has to give, because prices cannot simply keep spiralling in an upward direction. Customers simply won't pay the exorbitant prices at which the subscriptions would have to be fixed in order to pay for itself.

I know some of you don't see it, but you must agree that there is a price beyond which people won't pay, so a solution will have to be found.

---------- Post added at 13:21 ---------- Previous post was at 13:17 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by 1andrew1 View Post
The rights are sold on an exclusive basis and all the rights are never sold to one broadcaster. So even if BT Sport-Sky Sports combined, another competing broadcaster like BeIN Sport would be around to bid up the rights and acquire at least one package.
What you are probably seeking is a non-exclusive rights sale so that more than one broadcaster can show the same matches. That does not raise the same level of income for the sports rights owners so would have to be legislated for by Government.
I know there are some matches that would be picked up by a different broadcaster in line with the rules. I was really thinking about the main package.

In respect of that main package, BT and Sky Sports could submit a joint bid. That is what I meant.
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