Sky share price touches 14-year high as profit and customers jump after splashing billions on Premier League rights April 21, 2015 Shares in Sky jumped as much as five per cent in early trading, touching a 14-year high, after the firm announced it had grown profit, revenue and customers The figures For the nine months to the end of March, Sky operating profit was up 20 per cent to £1.025bn on revenue of £8.453bn, which also grew five per [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Sky share price reaches 15-year high of 1,005p on pan-European status February 25, 2015 Despite more cost pressure than ever on European pay TV broadcaster Sky, its shares touched a new high yesterday as investors remained optimistic about the group’s future. Shares rose 3.18 per cent to 1,005p on the London Stock Exchange, even as Sky prepares to swallow a huge £4.2bn bill to hold on to its Premier [...]
Sky Sports wins US Major League Soccer TV broadcast rights February 24, 2015 Sky Sports will today announce it has added exclusive TV broadcast rights of live US Major League Soccer (MLS) in the UK, from March. The four-year deal to show at least two games a week comes as Sky prepares to swallow its huge £4.2bn bid to hold on to an improved package of Premier League football [...]
Sky hopes that huge Premier League TV football deal will score with fans – Brand Index February 17, 2015 Sky Sports was clearly in no mood to relinquish to BT Sport the right to broadcast Premier League matches between 2016-19, despite having to shell out the bulk of the £5bn needed to secure those rights. There has been some dissent, with some ex-players calling the amount of money involved obscene. Commentators have asserted that [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]