A $2.31B deal to televise Premier League soccer
"unravelled" yesterday when UK-based cable TV company NTL,
which is partly owned by Bill Gates, was "forced to pull out
of their part of the agreement," according to David Bond of
SOCCERNET. NTL was "due to pay" $470M in a three-year deal
to televise 40 PPV matches per season, but the league's
legal and commercial advertisers "became concerned by new
demands being made by" NTL. Bond: "There were also believed
to be doubts over [NTL's] technical ability to provide the
sort of coverage the Premier League wanted." The NTL deal
"was part of a huge" TV agreement due to start next season
that would also include a $1.59M agreement with BSkyB. But
the non-NTL deals "have already been signed and are not at
risk" (SOCCERNET, 10/18). DAILY VARIETY's Erich Boehm writes
that the "inside word is that NTL nixed its agreement
because the league changed terms on how the cabler could
price and package its soccer. ... A second issue was that
the methodology via which games would be selected for PPV
broadcast had been altered to favor BSkyB" (DAILY VARIETY,
10/19). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Mimi Turner cites both
sides of the deal as saying that they "could not agree on
final terms." Analysts "had suggested earlier that NTL was
paying too much" for the rights (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/19).
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE reports that the Premier League "will
now be in a position to reopen the auction for the pay-per-
view rights or restart negotiations with NTL." BSkyB is
"barred from bidding for the pay-per-view rights under the
terms of the original auction" (AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE,
10/18). The LONDON TIMES' Charlie Wyett reports that
"football bosses are ready to launch their own Premier
League TV channel" (LONDON TIMES, 10/19).
