Carlton Communications is looking to purchase the
Premier Soccer League's Arsenal club for a "reported" $459M,
according to Erich Boehm of DAILY VARIETY. Carlton is part
of the ITV network, "by far the U.K.'s largest commercial
terrestrial web." Boehm writes that Carlton may be "looking
for leverage" to win the rights to the Premier League, which
they held before BSkyB acquired them (DAILY VARIETY, 9/11).
BLOOMBERG's Christine Harper reports that Carlton owns half
of OnDigital, a service that will compete with BSkyB's
satellite service this fall. Sports Analyst David Brooks
calls Arsenal "the strongest club in London" with "a huge
supporter base of well over 1 million." Harper notes the
team's revenue was $44.8M last season (BLOOMBERG, 9/11). In
London, Millward & Potter report that Aston Villa, another
Premier League club, was also "involved in talks with an
unnamed broadcaster." Following the news of the United's
$1.03B sale to BSkyB, Aston Villa was valued at $120M, up
from $102M the day before (LONDON TELEGRAPH, 9/11).
