The latest Premier League broadcasting auction: Sentanta's demise, competition issues and piracy
03 August 2009
This article was first published in Entertainment Law
Review in August 2009.
Introduction
This article highlights some of the major challenges that have
faced the Premier League (PL) over the last few years. It will
begin with a short assessment and analysis of the latest domestic
PL broadcasting auction, which further entrenched BSkyB's (Sky)
position as the go-to platform for live PL matches in the United
Kingdom. Reference will then be made to the consequences of the
auction specifically for Sky, ESPN and UK consumers plus an insight
into the untimely demise of Setanta.
The rest of the article then looks into two of the main issues
presently facing the PL. The first concerns the ongoing threat to
Sky by consumers subscribing to non-UK authorised PL feeds from
European and non-European broadcasters. The second relates to the
threat to subscription TV posed by free online streaming of
encrypted content. Both have the impact of reducing demand for
Pay-TV in the UK and in turn eroding the value of the PL's live
product.
For further information, please contact Daniel
Geey and Mohammed Karim.