Regulator Ofcom "turned down Virgin Media’s application to pause the auction for rights to live Premier League football," but said it is possible that the process does "restrict competition," according to Tara Conlan of the London GUARDIAN. It also revealed that "the Premier League is ensuring contracts with the winning broadcasters cover the possibility that Ofcom’s ongoing investigation into the way the Premier League sells its TV rights might go against them." Ofcom rejected Virgin’s 11th-hour bid saying it is "not necessary for Ofcom to act urgently to prevent significant harm or to protect the public interest." The Premier League "has inserted similar caveats into its contracts with broadcasters in the past to deal with the possibility of rulings by regulatory authorities about the bid process and its outcome" (GUARDIAN, 2/4). The PA's Martyn Ziegler wrote the sale "is expected to deliver another bumper payday for top-flight clubs and to be completed this month -- and possibly even by the end of this week." Ofcom "is still investigating a complaint from Virgin Media about how the Premier League sells its TV rights." A statement from Ofcom said, "Ofcom has today decided to reject the application, as it does not consider that there is an urgent need to intervene to delay the auction." The regulator "did say however it could enforce action if its investigation does find fault with the league" (PA, 2/4). In London, Christopher Williams wrote the sale "is the second time BT and Sky have gone head to head over top-flight English football." Analysts at UBS predicted this week that "each side is likely to buy roughly the same proportion of matches as three years ago, with Sky the dominant broadcaster." UBS analyst Polo Tang said, “The Premier League rights auction has been a major overhang on the Sky share price but potentially we believe the outcome could be more benign than people expect" (TELEGRAPH, 2/4).
