Virgin Media has called on the UK telecoms regulator Ofcom to launch a competion inquiry into the escalating cost of rights to broadcast Premier League football. A new auction is due early next year and Virgin predicts a further 60 per cent hike in costs.
Lacking the financial firepower of BSkyB and BT, who jointly pay £1bn a year to screen the top matches, Virgin will not bid in the next Premier League rights auction.
Virgin Media has called on the UK telecoms regulator Ofcom to launch a competion inquiry into the escalating cost of rights to broadcast Premier League football. A new auction is due early next year and Virgin predicts a further 60 per cent hike in costs.
Lacking the financial firepower of BSkyB and BT, who jointly pay £1bn a year to screen the top matches, Virgin will not bid in the next Premier League rights auction.
The complaint raises the question of whether the competition between BT and BSkyB damages consumers who ending up paying more. Virgin claims that they pay three times as much to watch matches as their counterparts in mainland European countries.
The collective negotiation by Premier League clubs is permitted by the European Union on the basis that it encourages competition between broadcasters and increases the number of games available to viewers. Presumably the same number would be available if the cost was less, but Virgin argues that only 40 per cent of games are available to watch in England compared with all games on the continent.
Ofcom is expected to making a ruling this year before the next auction.