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Premier League bets on online jackpot
E-finance: special report
David Teather, media business correspondent
Wednesday May 17, 2000
The Premier League is demanding a share of revenues from online betting and other interactive services run by the media company which wins the main rights to broadcast live matches from the 2001-2 season.
A copy of the tender document adds a clause to the package of 66 live matches which requires the bidder to include projections of how much revenue it hopes to generate through the exploitation of interactive services enabled by digital television.
The Premier League also wants the broadcasters to outline the percentage they would hand over to the game's officials plus the size of a non-returnable advance each season.
Different deals on interactive revenues will subsequently be agreed between the league and each platform that agrees to carry the live games. Similar demands are made on bidders for the pay-per-view package of 40 live games.
"It's sensible of the Premier League to look at the interactive element and try to write something into the agreement," said Nick Batram, sport and leisure analyst at broking firm Granville Baird. "Whether deals end up being structured in that way is a different issue."
The 23-page document forms the basis for what is expected to be the most expensive broadcasting deal in sport. The growing number of broadcasters jostling for position in Britain has prompted estimates on the amount that will be generated by the process to soar as high as £2bn. Anyone winning the main live rights will have to pay 7.5% of the fee on offer immediately.
Initial bids were lodged with the league last week and offi cials are now meeting broadcasters to flesh out their proposals. Channel 5 is understood to be at the league's offices this morning. Around 75 tender documents were sent out to interested broadcasters and all the mainstream TV firms in Britain are expected to feature including BSkyB, NTL, Telewest, OnDigital and the ITV companies.
Speculation is growing that the key bidders may agree between themselves which set of rights they will bid for in the hope of keeping the price as low as possible.
The tender document says the league will either draw up a shortlist of a maximum of five bids for each package of rights on offer or move to recommend a single bid straight away. The process will then move to either sealed bids or an auction. A number of clubs are believed to favour the auction method.
Under the current deal, hatched on the eve of Euro 96, BSkyB paid £670m for five years with the BBC winning a highlights package for £73m.
In the current bidding process there are two free-to-air highlights packages and clubs will have rights to screen their own matches on their own channels or websites on a delayed basis.
The contract length for the new set of broadcast rights has been reduced from five to three years.
E-finance: special report
David Teather, media business correspondent
Wednesday May 17, 2000
The Premier League is demanding a share of revenues from online betting and other interactive services run by the media company which wins the main rights to broadcast live matches from the 2001-2 season.
A copy of the tender document adds a clause to the package of 66 live matches which requires the bidder to include projections of how much revenue it hopes to generate through the exploitation of interactive services enabled by digital television.
The Premier League also wants the broadcasters to outline the percentage they would hand over to the game's officials plus the size of a non-returnable advance each season.
Different deals on interactive revenues will subsequently be agreed between the league and each platform that agrees to carry the live games. Similar demands are made on bidders for the pay-per-view package of 40 live games.
"It's sensible of the Premier League to look at the interactive element and try to write something into the agreement," said Nick Batram, sport and leisure analyst at broking firm Granville Baird. "Whether deals end up being structured in that way is a different issue."
The 23-page document forms the basis for what is expected to be the most expensive broadcasting deal in sport. The growing number of broadcasters jostling for position in Britain has prompted estimates on the amount that will be generated by the process to soar as high as £2bn. Anyone winning the main live rights will have to pay 7.5% of the fee on offer immediately.
Initial bids were lodged with the league last week and offi cials are now meeting broadcasters to flesh out their proposals. Channel 5 is understood to be at the league's offices this morning. Around 75 tender documents were sent out to interested broadcasters and all the mainstream TV firms in Britain are expected to feature including BSkyB, NTL, Telewest, OnDigital and the ITV companies.
Speculation is growing that the key bidders may agree between themselves which set of rights they will bid for in the hope of keeping the price as low as possible.
The tender document says the league will either draw up a shortlist of a maximum of five bids for each package of rights on offer or move to recommend a single bid straight away. The process will then move to either sealed bids or an auction. A number of clubs are believed to favour the auction method.
Under the current deal, hatched on the eve of Euro 96, BSkyB paid £670m for five years with the BBC winning a highlights package for £73m.
In the current bidding process there are two free-to-air highlights packages and clubs will have rights to screen their own matches on their own channels or websites on a delayed basis.
The contract length for the new set of broadcast rights has been reduced from five to three years.