Premier League win case against pub

A statement issued by the Premier League says, ‘We welcome confirmation from the High Court that The Rhyddings Hotel in Swansea was infringing our copyright with its broadcasts of Premier League football. We are pleased that the Court awarded an injunction against the infringing premises, together with an order for damages and payment of our costs.’ These costs could amount to £125,000 with the case reaching the High Court.

BTs’ strategy is working

BT’s strategy of investing heavily in the Premier League seems to be working. This means that the cost of television rights is likely to be forced up beyond the cost of inflation in the next auction due before the summer of 2015with a price war in prospect. The Premiership bubble has certainly not burst, despite forecasts to that effect over the years.

What future for BSkyB?

The path that Sky takes in the future as it faces up to the competitive challenge from BT will influence how much the Premier League obtains for its television rights and hence the income of top clubs.

A wholesale deal with BT – with each company making its channels available through the other’s packages – could remove the risk of spiralling sports rights packages. This would tend to hold back the growth of Premiership income.

Cup not about the money

The financial rewards of the FA Cup with Budweiser are limited, certainly at this stage of the competition.

When Rochdale played Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday they had a police bill of around £30,000. With 45 per cent of the gate receipts, they will make around £35,000.

If the game had been televised, they would have got an extra £144,000. However, the televised games tend to be those involving the clubs with the biggest number of fans. If they had won, they would have received £90,000.

Big battle over Italian TV rights

When Italy’s cash-strapped soccer clubs meet today to prepare for a new deal on broadcast rights, their deliberations will be influenced by the knowledge that Italian football is in a dismal state and viewers are switching off.

A farcical match in the third division this month, which saw a local derby near Naples abandoned after players were threatened by fans and faked injury to avoid playing, underlined the grim climate in the Italian game, beset for years by match-fixing scandals and stadium violence.

Implications of BT deal sinking in

The implications of BT winning Champions League football are still sinking in. Whether it is a good deal for BT shareholders is a matter for discussion. Most Champions League matches are only a big attraction to the fans of the club involved. Sky say that they account for only 3 per cent of their viewership compared with 18 per cent for the Premier League.

BT’s Champions League coup

BT is understood to have won the rights from Uefa to televise the Champions League and the Europa League for three years from 2015. Under the present deal worth £400m the lion’s share of the games go to ITV rather than Sky.

BT is thought to have paid almost £1 billion, double what the former two companies paid to share the current contract in 2011. Uefa had hoped for £600m so its hopes have been exceeded. Some of the extra money will find its way into Champions League prizes, making the financial importance of qualification even greater.

TV revenue boosts Brazilian teams

Brazil’s economy may be experiencing sluggish growth, but the country’s football clubs are experiencing boom conditions. It’s largely due to a growth in television revenues according to a study by bank Itaú BBA.

The revenues of Brazil’s top 24 teams grew an average 32 per cent in 2012 to reach a total of almost $1.4bn. Since 2010 club revenue has grown consistently, on average at about 29 per cent a year.

Sky links up with Twitter

British Sky Broadcasting has teamed up with Twitter to share video highlights of Uefa Champions League football in real time. Sky’s plan to share some of its most valuable sports clips free with social media users is a coup for Twitter.

Starting today with three Champions League games including Barcelona against Milan, the Sky Sports Twitter account will share highlights including instant replays of the best goals and post-match interviews. The aim of the project is to promote Sky’s sports channels and its internet service Now TV.

BSkyB hit by battle with BT

Although BSkyB has taken a hit from its battle with BT, its quarterly results were better than expected. Even so, it has had to spend more on content and marketing. However, the real beneficiaries of the competition are top clubs who are likely to receive even more for televising their matches.