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Articles concerning television and broadcasting issues in football.
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.
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.
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
A fundamental feature of the Premier League up to now has been that television revenues are shared equally between clubs, unlike Spain where Barcelona and Real Madrid are able to negotiate their own deals. Of course, in practice, some of the money is relation to position in the league so the top clubs do get more.
The Football Association’s failed bid to stage the World Cup cost £6m more than has been previously thought. The total cost was £21m, or £10.5m per vote, although the net cost was £14m. £2.5m came from the public purse in terms of contributions from local authorities who hoped to stage matches in their cities. Another £4.5m came from sponsors.
Predictably initial media reaction to yesterday’s European Court of Justice (ECJ) case involving Portsmouth publican Karen Murphy over simplified a complex set of issues. Indeed, the only certainty in this matter is that the winners will be the lawyers who will pocket substantial fees in subsequent litigation.
Although the Premier League lost its case on football brodcasting in the European Court today, and hence Sky lost as well, the outcome will not change that much, at least in the short run, although no doubt further litigation will follow.
Next Tuesday the European Court of Justice (ECJ) will rule on whether the Premier League can continue to give its broadcasters domestic exclusivity or whether consumers should be free to cherry pick subscriptions from across Europe.
Sir Alex Ferguson thinks that television has too much power over football. But he admits that it is a Faustian pact: ‘If you shake hands with the devil, you have to pay the price.’
The benefactor club model has worked well in England in the sense that it has delivered success to clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City and, on a smaller scale, Fulham. It does, however, face greater challenges in France.