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The Football League has signed a new three-year deal with Sky Sports and ITV worth about £110m, a 40 per cent increase on the present contract. The deal is testimony both to the increased popularity of the Football League and the heightened competition for television rights ahead of next year's Premiership negotiations. One of the groups bidding against BSkyB was Setana, the Irish television group, that is trying to poach Trevor East, BSkyB's deputy head of sport. They already have the rights to the Scottish Premier League. Their opportunity to get into Premiership football could come next year when the European Commission is likely to insist that 25-50 per cent of rights should be made available to a second buyer. The improved Football League deal was negotiated partly by allowing an increase from 60 to 70 live matches to be shown by Sky Sports, 55 of which will be from the Coca-Cola Championship. Although an annual total of about £37m will be distributed to the 72 Football League clubs, a total figure about ten times higher is handed out to the 20 Premiership clubs.
Meanwhile... Rivals Get Together To Challenge Sky TV Deal
Broadcasters and cable operators have been talking to one another about challenging BSkyB by making a joint offer for the live television rights for Premiership matches. Cable operators NTL and Telewest, together with terrestial broadcasters, are keen to team up with a joint bid. Private equity groups including Benchmark Capital have also expressed interest. The private equity groups are attracted because subscriptions are a big source of revenue for BSkyB. Sky is believed to earn £150m-£180m a year from pub and club subscriptions to its premium sports channels. It is believed that Sky can recover almost two-thirds of the amount it paid for the rights with the revenue from pubs and clubs. Top Up TV, the premium pay-TV service for digital terrestial television, is also keen to broadcast live Premiership games. NTL and Telewest are keen to gain live rights for Premiership football as they have to pay an undisclosed sum to BSkyB to show games on their cable networks. The European Commission has already agreed with the Premiership that the new contract starting in 2007 will not be held exclusively by one broadcaster.
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