General : ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news

[TimeLord2018]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

It may not be another subscription, but if EFL rights costs rise from £119m per season to an anticipated £200m per season, then expect to be tapped up for that increase.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...TV-rights.html

They will probably say the launch of Sky Sports Tennis (it exists in Italy) is the reason for a price increase.

[Rillington]

If Sky does manage to secure the ATP Series events then Sky Sports Tennis would be very justifiable. Iirc it looks likely this will happen as Amazon seem to have decided to withdraw from broadcasting tennis.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Rillington

If Sky does manage to secure the ATP Series events then Sky Sports Tennis would be very justifiable. Iirc it looks likely this will happen as Amazon seem to have decided to withdraw from broadcasting tennis.

That makes sense. From what I've read, it may not entirely have been Amazon's decision.

[1andrew1]

Next Premier League rights tender may be the last as it considers cutting out TV companies.

The Premier League are discussing in the future ditching their multi partners including Sky Sports and BT Sport and showing games on their own platform.

It’s likely there will be just one more multi partner deal before the Premier League cut out the middle men and run the show themselves. It will be devastating for Sky who have helped build the Premier League to the financial colossus it is today after joining forces at its inception in 1992.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...-plan-29660799

Given the stupid amounts they pay (about 1.2 billion per year) I wonder just how much Sky makes in profit out of it (you need about 4.5 million yearly subscribers just to get your money back).

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Paul

Given the stupid amounts they pay (about 1.2 billion per year) I wonder just how much Sky makes in profit out of it (you need about 4.5 million yearly subscribers just to get your money back).

I don’t know what the figures look like now but around 10 years ago they reported around 6 million Sky Sports subscribers. Customers on Virgin Media added around another half million.

More recent accounts have far less granularity. Ratings aren’t even as good a proxy as they used to be as with more games being added fans are more selective about what they watch.

Anecdotally illegal streams seem more popular than any previous piracy options since the ITV Digital gold card.

[1andrew1]

The Premier League will have its work cut out to make more money from customers than it has done by selling broadcasting rights to Sky, BT and Amazon. And the only way of seeing whether people like DAZN would be prepared to pay over the odds for TV rights would be an auction.

That is of course assuming its intention is to maximise income and not to try and devise a more cost-effective solution for fans.

[jfman]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

The Premier League will have its work cut out to make more money from customers than it has done by selling broadcasting rights to Sky, BT and Amazon. And the only way of seeing whether people like DAZN would be prepared to pay over the odds for TV rights would be an auction.

That is of course assuming its intention is to maximise income and not to try and devise a more cost-effective solution for fans.

The league might take their steer from Sky, the one company that perhaps knows more about the television market for Premier League rights than they do, that the value of the rights is falling in the current form despite the deep pockets of big tech.

If the route is to maximise income by selling every game then it’s likely clubs will want to reevaluate distribution/sales models to season ticket holders, club members and the population at large.

It might not necessarily bump the overall value, but if the big clubs can seize a bigger slice of the pie that’d have consequential impact on their share price and negotiating power for a European Super League.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by jfman

The league might take their steer from Sky, the one company that perhaps knows more about the television market for Premier League rights than they do, that the value of the rights is falling in the current form despite the deep pockets of big tech.

If the route is to maximise income by selling every game then it’s likely clubs will want to reevaluate distribution/sales models to season ticket holders, club members and the population at large.

It might not necessarily bump the overall value, but if the big clubs can seize a bigger slice of the pie that’d have consequential impact on their share price and negotiating power for a European Super League.

Agreed.

Usual reader comments in the press along the lines of how it would be great if the Premier League would let me just subscribe to matches my team plays in.

As soon as you get that type of subscription in place you can link the income to specific clubs and the likes of Arsenal and United will understandably push for their share of the cake having a better relationship to the TV rights income they receive. And if clubs are not selling via Sky with its cross-promotional opportunities, they may prefer a direct broadcasting relationship with their supporters too so they can upsell replica kits, stadium tours, etc to them.

I can see benefit in the Premier League in selling directly in overseas markets where the value of the rights is less clear and it may not get the prominence on sports channels that it wants. I'm less convinced about the benefits of doing so in the UK market.

[jfman]

Oddly, I’m less convinced of the international market.

Secondary rights don’t hold much value in any market. Foreign leagues are a nice add on to pad out a subscription and largely interchangeable. The EPL buys into an exceptionalist mantra living in its own echo chamber.

[Dingbat]

Originally Posted by jfman

Oddly, I’m less convinced of the international market.

Secondary rights don’t hold much value in any market. Foreign leagues are a nice add on to pad out a subscription and largely interchangeable. The EPL buys into an exceptionalist mantra living in its own echo chamber.

The EPL is massive in the Far East, with most games broadcast live (even 3pm kick-offs, which are blocked here).

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Dingbat

The EPL is massive in the Far East, with most games broadcast live (even 3pm kick-offs, which are blocked here).

I don’t doubt people watch it. I doubt they’d put their hands in their pocket for it on a standalone subscription if the Bundesliga, La Liga, etc. were in their basic packages.

[ozsat]

The US have every EPL game live too. A couple are usually on main stream channels - but the rest are on NBC Peacock.

An annual subscription to Peacock is only a little more than a monthly subscription to Sky Sports.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by ozsat

The US have every EPL game live too. A couple are usually on main stream channels - but the rest are on NBC Peacock.

An annual subscription to Peacock is only a little more than a monthly subscription to Sky Sports.

Comsat (NBC) pays a fraction of the UK rights costs per match as they are secondary in the US. But good to see the League getting exposure there with some matches on the main channels.

[TimeLord2018]

EFL announces broadcasting deal with Sky Sports
https://www.skygroup.sky/article/efl...ith-sky-sports