Sky Sports Wins 3 of 6 Premiership Packages

EU wanted competition, hopefully which would have meant cheaper for the viewer - it gone the other way. It will cost lots more to watch football in your own home.

Come 2007/2008 season I think I will be going to my local to watch football on a Saturday afternoon (at 3pm) when I am in the UK. Sky has recently lost a few court cases (including one involving my UK local pub) meaning that pubs CAN subscribe to overseas satellite providers to screen The English Premiership in British pubs in the traditional FA Blackout period. (Blackout periods - talk about being in the dark ages of Television when few people can afford to go to football matches - Bolton alone is £32/per game - or £525 for a cheap season ticket which is more expensive than Man Utd's middle priced season ticket -then you have to pay to get there and park there and if you want a drink the prices are higher than in a normal pub - same with the pies etc...),

There again in the Netherlands I can subscribe to my local cable company and have the choice of which English Premiership match to watch in the traditional Saturday 3pm kick-off slot!

One more thing congratulations to Accrington Stanley for getting back into the league - after a 44 year absence! EXACTLY!!!!!!

I wonder what the wider impact of this will be on sports rights and if Sky will sell on any existing rights and whether they'll be successful in future bids for other events, such as the Champions League.


I'd imagine also that when the rights for the Championship / League 1/2 come up again Sky will have less money to bid for them - but probably no serious competition - and hence the gulf between the Premiership and rest of the Football League will be wider than ever!