Premier League clubs agree £1bn for good causes if TV rights deal remains after Ofcom investigation March 26, 2015 The Premier League yesterday conditioned a £1bn grant for a variety of good causes, including grassroots football, on its new bumper £5bn TV rights deal not being overturned by a regulatory investigation. The body that oversees England’s 20 elite football clubs says its offer will not stand if an investigation by Ofcom, instigated after a [...]
CityFibre asks watchdog to level playing field after BT-EE merger March 23, 2015 High speed fibre optic firm CityFibre has attacked BT, saying its planned acquisition of EE would “stifle innovation” and “deliver little tangible benefit for consumers”. CityFibre revealed the objection this morning, saying that it submitted a formal complaint to the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) on Friday. The company demanded Ofcom be allowed to enforce extra [...]
BT hits back at Ofcom over new broadband rule March 19, 2015 Telecoms giant BT slammed its industry regulator for taking a “lopsided” approach to the UK market. Industry watchdog Ofcom yesterday confirmed it was going ahead with a new pricing rule, coming into effect on 1 April. The rule means BT must maintain a sufficient margin between its wholesale and retail superfast broadband fees, in order [...]
BT fined £800,000 by Ofcom for deaf service failure March 17, 2015 British Telecom (BT) has been handed an £800,000 fine from media regulator Ofcom for failing to offer adequate services for hearing-impaired customers for five months. The fine relates to BT’s failure to bring in its Next Generation text relay system from between April and September 2014. The system translates voice-to-text on various devices, including PCs, [...]
Digital probe sparks row over broadband as Sky and Talk-Talk press Ofcom to break up BT and Openreach March 12, 2015 A battle between the UK’s largest telecommunications businesses intensified yesterday, as Sky and Talk-Talk pounced on a decision by the regulator to launch a wide-ranging probe into the sector. Both firms ramped up pressure on Ofcom to break up BT from the part of its business – called BT Openreach – that runs the UK’s broadband [...]
Premier League TV deal: An economics professor on why lowering ticket prices and redistributing the wealth could backfire February 12, 2015 With £5.14bn heading the Premier League’s way thanks to Sky and BT’s record domestic TV rights deal, public pressure is being placed on the organisation to share the wealth and relinquish the financial burden on match-going fans. The Football Supporters’ Federation has called upon the league to implement a £20 limit on away [...]
BT begins placement of £1bn of shares to fund EE acquisition February 12, 2015 BT is selling £1bn worth of shares to fund its £12.5bn deal for mobile network EE. The new shares will be listed through an accelerated bookbuilding process to fund part of the cash element of the deal, the telecoms giant confirmed this morning. The bookbuilding for the sale of 5p ordinary shares to institutional investors, [...]
Premier League comes under further fire for TV rights auction February 11, 2015 The auction process used by the Premier League to sell TV rights to Sky and BT for a whopping £5.1bn came under criticism yesterday for the second time in a matter of days. The deal was reached under a blind auction, with an unknown number of rounds and bidders. Virgin Media chief executive Tom Mockridge [...]
Manchester United share price soars following record Premier League TV deal February 11, 2015 The record £5.14bn Premier League TV deal is still a season and a half away from kicking in, but some clubs are already feeling the benefits. Manchester United’s share price rose on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, rising by almost five per cent to a price of $17.03 per share. The [...]
Five things you could buy for the same price as the Premier League TV rights: 325 Balotellis, 2.2m travelcards, 65m Apple shares and more February 11, 2015 Buying up the rights to broadcast Premier League matches to avid football fans across the UK doesn't come cheap. At a total of £5.2bn, a record price paid by Sky and BT, that’s some serious spending power. Here’s what else that sort of cash could be splashed on. 1. 2.2m travelcards How about buying [...]