Trade cautious over Sky decision

The trade has given a cautious welcome to the news that Sky TV's monopoly on live Premiership football has been broken.

Earlier this week the European Commission (EC) announced it had brokered a deal with the Premier League, which will allow eight games to be shown live on terrestrial television from next season.

Tony Payne, chief executive of the Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Associations (FLVA), called the deal a "foot in the door" for the trade.

He said: "I would now expect Sky to review prices for pubs. This deal shows that Europe is willing to step in and stop a TV company coming in and taking over."

In August, Sky brokered a £1.02bn deal with the Premier League for exclusive Premiership rights for three seasons starting next year. EC commissioner Mario Monti said at the time that the deal was "bad for competition" and "tantamount to price-fixing".

Licensees were already unhappy with the satellite broadcaster after it hiked up subscriptions fees for many licensees, some suffering a rise of up to 22 per cent.

Charlie Way, licensee of the Legh Arms in Knutsford, near Manchester, said: "It's a step in the right direction. It is not a perfect situation. It is a bit Catch-22 because if games are on terrestrial TV then people will stay away and watch them at home.

"However, it has stopped the Sky monopoly which the most important thing. To hike up my subscription by £900 just for the added European games was a joke."

However, Rob Hayward, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), sounded a note of caution. He said: "I have this sense that the ruling might discourage the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) from opening up an enquiry."

Over the last few months both the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers and the BBPA with the FLVA have submitted evidence to the OFT, hoping it will open an enquiry into Sky's recent pricing policy towards pubs.

Vote!​

Related articles:​

Sky loses football rights (17 December 2003)