The near £1billion bid is said to have stunned the Sky/ITV combination and paves the way for BT Sport to follow it up with a determined bid for the lion’s share of the Premier League coverage when the next deal is struck.
Since the enforced sharing of the broadcasting deal to ensure no one company has a monopoly, minority partners such as Setanta have shown no signs of ever being able to use their initial involvement as a means of growing long-term.
Many Newcastle fans have wanted the flexibility of being able to watch United live on TV but without the constraints of having to sign up on a long-term contract.
In the future you could find it that little bit harder to access live Newcastle matches. With £Billions being spent on the right to screen Premier League matches live, it is no surprise to find the interested parties cracking down on those profiting from ‘their’ product.
Obviously all this extra TV money will have brought down the real cost (after taking inflation into account) of going to matches…wrong! Prices have increased by up to 1100% and only in recent times are showing signs of levelling off.
The end of this football season is likely to coincide with negotiations intensifying for the next Premier League TV deal. Qatar based Al Jazeera are expected to battle with SKY and ESPN, will Mike Ashley be in line for megabucks?
A few weeks ago my nephew asked if I fancied a trip to The Emirates with some of his pals. First I clarified he meant for a footy match involving NUFC and not surfing down sand dunes in theMiddle East.
