@Plektrum wrote:
@Super+Anthony wrote:
@PlektrumSo you saying we will have to pay for 4 or even 5 different groups. We paying enough as it is. Surely the Govenment or someone needs to step in, on behalf of the customer and its unfair that we need to keep paying more and more, and especially in these tough times. OR they should be offereing all these prices under one roof. This is where SKY/Virgin need to use common sense and show that they REALLY do care for the customer, rather than just being concerned with profits. I know we dont have to pay for everything, but at present , we paying for BT Sports / Sky Sports (Should be more reasonable in price and should not be anywhere near what Sky charge) / Amazon
I'm just making a guess and may well be wrong! But the blind auction process for these packages could ensure something like that happens, especially if the likes of Apple, DAZN or Viaplay get into the fray!
There may be an argument for allowing the PL to negotiate with the incumbents (and I think the last deal was a step closer to seeing that happen sometime in the future) before taking them to market but I think the PL like the current process as it maximises the possible outlay and the biggest bid wins - and depending on who it is, they will have their own commercial incentives to offer as they see fit instead of being concerned about us!
Look at DAZN's recent price hike in Italy - you could be paying over 40-50 Euros a month now (so much for being the streaming good guys of sport) so the winner will do what they need to get a return on that investment.
Just to clarify a point - the Premier League have always held talks with the incumbent broadcasters ahead of publishing the ITT. It's the incumbent broadcasters who essentially tell the Premier League what works for them, what they would like to see, what doesn't work etc. That feedback then gets discussed at the AGM and is formulated into the ITT where appropriate. It's a case of the umbilical cord being severed upon the ITT being issued and highest bidder wins.
The last deal was completely different and had to gain government approval, which resulted in an exclusion order being made under competition law. This happened in virtually all sectors and wasn't exclusive to the Premier League.
The Premier League asking for special treatment, and the government so much as considering it again, would result in valid legal challenges that simply aren't worth it when they will very much prefer to go to market. Don't forget that the Premier League are already well aware of interest... the only thing that's "blind" is the auction/bid submission.
