by Ewan Turney
Licensees and pubcos have urged Sky to show restraint when it unveils new subscription rates later this year.
For many licensees, however, increased Sky rates will be only half of a double whammy. They will also find themselves in a higher charging band, courtesy of the business rates review that took effect in April.
Pathfinder Pubs managing director Derek Andrew is brac- ing himself for a further 'extortionate 20% increase in line with the previous two years. Path-finder's Sky bill rose by £400,000 last year to £2.5m for 280 pubs. In the last three years, its average Sky bill per pub has risen from £3,000 to £10,000.
'We've had various discussions with Sky before and it just falls on deaf ears, said Andrew. 'There comes a point when there is no point in having any dialogue because actually it doesn't add any value because of the adversarial nature of the relationship.
Andrew believes Sky shows 'no empathy with its commercial customers and there is 'no chemistry on which to build an enduring partnership. 'It really is a bizarre situation when they are the only supplier who we have a constant battle with and limited respect for, he said. 'It's difficult because what sanctions does the industry have?
The Morning Advertiser re- ported in April that early discussions had taken place with Sky over a fairer way to calculate rates. But Sky has yet to indicate whether suggestions such as basing charges on floor space could be a viable alternative to the rateable-value band system.
Bolton host Douglas Stoneley- Hulme of the Antelope in Kears-ley said: 'I suspect they won't change their way of charging, despite the suggestions, which means it could well be a double increase.
Meanwhile there is increasing speculation that the European Commission will strip Sky of its exclusive rights to screen Premier League football when the current contract ends in 2007, meaning the BBC and ITV could win some games.
A report in the Financial Times claimed that Sky recoups almost two-thirds of the cost of the Premier League football contract, believed to be £1bn over five years, from its pub and club revenue.