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Television and Broadcasting

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Premiership rethinks TV rights

Submitted by WG on Wed, 21/03/2012 - 15:54

The Premier League is thinking of repackaging the sale of the television rights to screen live matches in Europe to offset the impact of last year's court ruling in the so-called 'pub landlady' case on its lucrative income.

Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League, has said that the competition may abandon the sale of its rights on a country-by-country basis and sell them across Europe instead, something that is more compatible with the idea of a single market.

Liverpool would like to sell their own media rights

Submitted by WG on Mon, 12/03/2012 - 14:52

International media rights are sold collectively by the Premier League, but Liverpool FC has expressed interest in taking control of those rights, particularly in Asia where the club is very popular.  Fenway Sports Group (FSG) chairman Tom Werner told the Financial Times, 'We certainly want to increase awareness [of the club] in Asia ... if we can't do that by transmitting the matches live, we still want to appeal to our fans there.'

Competition for German television rights

Submitted by WG on Thu, 01/03/2012 - 10:23

It looks as if there is going to be plenty of competition when the Bundesliga auctions its TV rights for 2013-17 in April.   The current holders, Sky Deutschland, are reported to be paying around €250m a year and are keen to retain the rights.  

However, there is strong competition from broadcasters RTL ProSieben and internet groups such as Deutsche Telekom and the league is hoping for an increase in income of at least 10 per cent.

Premier League Merit Payments and TV Money

Submitted by JSB on Thu, 23/02/2012 - 18:02

We often get letters (well, emails) asking about the level of Merit Payments and TV Facility Fees for Premier League football clubs. Whilst we have published some data in the past, it's not always easy to get a proper picture of how the system works.

Al Jazeera breaks into televised football

Submitted by WG on Fri, 09/12/2011 - 19:34

Some time ago I was quite surprised to be asked by Al Jazeera if I could come into their London studio to talk about football.   As it happened, I couldn't make it but perhaps I should have seen the straw in the wind.


The Qatari broadcaster has been awarded the majority of media rights to screen Uefa Champions League matches in France for three years from 2012 in a deal worth €180m.   This is a serious blow to French pay-TV operator Canal Plus.

United take big hit from Champions League exit

Submitted by WG on Fri, 09/12/2011 - 19:18

Manchester United's elimination from the Champions League before the group stage will hit them hard financially.   They could be between £14m and £18m worse off than last season when they reached the final.  

The transformation of European football?

Submitted by WG on Tue, 15/11/2011 - 10:07

The book I have edited with Borja Garcia from Spain and Arne Niemann from Germany on the transformation of European football has now been published by Manchester University Press.   A 20 per cent discount is available to our readers who contact us through our e-mail address.

Barca supremo wants to cut size of La Liga

Submitted by WG on Mon, 07/11/2011 - 20:52

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell wants to cut the size of La Liga from 20 to 16 clubs, although he is prepared to accept a transitional membership of 18.   This appears to be his price for accepting a more equal distribution of television money through collective selling.

Becks considers his options

Submitted by WG on Sat, 05/11/2011 - 09:51

David Beckham helped Los Angeles Galazy to a 2-1 semi-final win against the New York Red Bulls in the Major League Soccer (MLS) play-offs, putting his team in the Western Conference final.   But he is nearing the end of his five-year contract in the States and is considering his options.   He doesn't want to retire and Paris St. Germain as well as unnamed Premiership clubs have come calling.   Then there is the Olympics to look forward to where the British team is likely to made up of Becks and ten others.

Lawyer reviews Murphy case

Submitted by WG on Thu, 03/11/2011 - 09:31

The Association for the Study of Sport and the European Union, of which I am a member, is providing a series of analyses of legal cases concerning sport, particularly football.   The first of these concerns the so-called Murphy case on TV decoders which started with a Portsmouth landlady.  It is provided by