Sky has maintained its grip on Premier League football in the bidding for the rights for 2016-2019 – but at enormous cost.
Sky will show 126 Premier League matches per season, at a cost in excess of £11 million per game. That’s an increase of over 80% on its current contract, and reveals just how determined Sky was to retain primacy in showing live Premier League football.
Meanwhile, BT Sport will pay £960 million to show 42 (up from 38) live top-flight Saturday and midweek matches – that’s a modest (!) 30% increase. BT is also adding live action from the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, FA Cup and top-flight European leagues.
Who wins?
It looks like both ‘teams’ played the game just as the premier League wanted> Sky has paid a very high price, but its business model is strong enough to survive, though not without considerable pain. The Premier League and its clubs, meanwhile, have a far larger ‘pie’ to slice up, and club owners will be keen to ensure that the extra revenue does not end up in footballers bank accounts…