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The upside for Sky is that it has been able to cherry pick the best four
of the six packages on offer. It has won the coveted "A" package of
matches, which are played late on Sunday afternoons. It also has the rights for
early afternoon Saturday and Sunday matches, as well as a group to be played midweek
and on bank holidays. Additionally, with Setanta a broadcaster that is already
available on its platform, it will still be able to offer its subscribers the
"total football" promise that has been the underpinning of its success. As
far as Britain's soccer bosses are concerned, there is more to come from its EPL
property since the rights it has auctioned were for just the UK territory. According
to media reports, the sale of remaining rights - overseas, near-live, highlights,
mobile - could swell the final figure to as high as £ 2.5 billion. The
biggest loser from all this, however, could well be the viewer, which would negate
the logic that was behind the European competition commissioner's insistence that
the Premier League end Sky's monopoly on live television rights in the first place
- introduce more choice for viewers. The £1.7 billion tab that Sky and Setanta
have toted up between them will ultimately mean that fans will ultimately pay
more to watch matches in the UK.
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Sky
bags English Premier League rights | 
