After the British government ruled Friday that it was
blocking BSkyB's $1B bid for Manchester United (See THE
DAILY, 4/9), BSkyB CEO Mark Booth said, "This is a bad
ruling for British football clubs, who will have to compete
in Europe against clubs who are backed by successful media
companies." In London, David Milward reported that
Britain's Trade & Industry Secretary Stephen Byers said it
would not be in the public interest to approve BSkyB's bid,
as the broadcaster, 40% owned by Rupert Murdoch's News
Corp., holds TV rights to cover English Premier Soccer
games, which include Manchester United. The decision
"called into question other purchases of leading clubs by
broadcasters in preparation for the advent of pay-per-view
matches." One bid under scrutiny is cable broadcaster NTL's
for Newcastle United (TELEGRAPH, 4/10). The TELEGRAPH's
Steve Curry wrote that "the belief of Manchester United is
that media and leisure groups would now be reluctant to step
into the void left by the decision" (TELEGRAPH, 4/11). But
the TELEGRAPH's Mihir Bose wrote that big media companies
will continue to "seek to influence football's television
market" and the "love affair between media companies and the
bigger clubs may have only just started" (TELE., 4/10).
WHAT IT MEANS: In DC, Paul Farhi wrote BSkyB gave "no
indication that it would appeal" the decision, and he called
the "rejection" of BSkyB and Murdoch "striking not just
because his offer for the team was the richest ever for a
sports franchise ... rather, Murdoch's attempt to buy the
soccer team was freighted with an unusual mix of national
politics, media control, antitrust law and deep fan
resentment." The rejection "was a surprise in view of
Murdoch's enormous political influence" (WASH. POST, 4/10).
