Sky Reduces Football League Deal
The Football League and Sky Sports have agreed a three-year deal for the exclusive broadcast rights of live matches from the 2012-13 season – in a reduced contract worth nearly £200m.
The deal, worth £195m, is a drop on the existing agreement with Sky and the BBC, currently worth £264m.
The BBC will not be continuing its live broadcasts of a selection of Football League matches, adding that it had been unable to make a competitive bid for live broadcasting rights.
The BBC currently has first pick to show ten live Championship matches a season, as well as two legs of the semi-finals and shared live coverage of the Carling Cup Final – which has now also been acquired by Sky Sports.
A highlights rights package is still to be negotiated which will help reduced the deficit felt by the Football League from the contract switchover.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘Given the current financial climate and the internal strategic review being carried out through Delivering Quality First, we were not in a position to be able to make a competitive bid for the Football League live TV broadcast rights’.
‘We look forward to continuing our coverage of the Football League to the end of the 2011-2012 season when our contract expires’.
The Football League chairman Greg Clarke stated that it had been a challenging climate to negotiate in.
Clarke added: ‘I am confident that our clubs will take heart from seeing such a significant ongoing investment in their competitions, despite a reduced level of broadcasting income, as it provides financial certainty in uncertain times’.
