NTL and Telewest to take on Sky over Premiership rights

by Ben Bold, Brand Republic 05-Oct-05, 15:45

LONDON - The company being formed out of the merger of cable groups NTL and Telewest is preparing to undercut Sky by potentially offering Premiership football subscription packages for a little as £10 a month.

The combined group is planning to offer an estimated £200m a year for the rights to air Premiership games.

However, the move depends on whether the European Commission rules that no single broadcaster can bid for more than 50% of the games.

Simon Duffy, the newly formed group's chief executive in waiting, said yesterday that Sky had underpaid for football rights. He argued that a fairer rights auction would generate more cash for clubs and better value for fans.

In 2003, Sky paid £1.02bn for an exclusive three-year deal to televise all live Premiership games.

The European Commission is seeking to end its 13-year monopoly on the live rights to Premiership matches by imposing a 50% cap on the number of matches bought by a single broadcaster.

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