Football fans are "likely to face more increases in the cost of watching matches at home," after media watchdog Ofcom dropped its two-year investigation of the Premier League’s multi-billion-pound TV rights auction, according to Christopher Williams of the London TELEGRAPH. Ofcom abandoned work on a complaint from the cable operator Virgin Media, after "concluding that it does not have the capacity to assess either way whether the way the Premier League sells rights is harming consumers." The decision means England’s top clubs can "maintain the blockade of live coverage of matches that kick off in the traditional 3pm Saturday slot." It is expected that as part of the announcement the Premier League "will increase the number of matches available for live broadcast in the next auction to 190, up from 168." A source said that regulators and the Premier League also agreed to changes to the structure of the sale that are "designed to boost competition among broadcasters." It is believed the changes "will boost the number of matches allocated to the minority rights holder, currently BT." Virgin Media claims that the Premier League’s restriction on the number of matches available for live broadcasters "is a barrier to competition that is causing costs to balloon." Its complaint also cited the fact that "each match is exclusively shown on either Sky Sports or BT Sport, arguing the head-to-head battle in a blind auction also escalates prices" (TELEGRAPH, 8/7). In London, Mark Sweney reported Ofcom said that the Premier League’s intention to increase the number of matches available at the next auction and its own research into the views of match-going and TV watching fans "supported its decision to drop the investigation." The research found that while 20% of fans wanted more matches on TV a "similar proportion were happy with the overall number of live games broadcast, but wanted to see different games shown." Among match-going fans, over two-thirds said that the Saturday 3pm kickoff "was their preferred time to go to a game" (GUARDIAN, 8/8). Also in London, Fedor & Thomas reported Virgin said that it "welcomed" Ofcom's announcement on Monday. Virgin CEO Tom Mockridge said, "Football fans will now be able to watch more live action on TV. As the only TV provider to offer all the available games, we are pleased that after a two-year campaign the Premier League has agreed to offer more TV games." A Premier League spokesperson said that the League welcomed the "certainty" of Ofcom's decision, adding that the League would "continue to structure and auction its UK broadcasting rights in ways that are compatible with applicable competition law." Ofcom Competition Group Dir Jonathan Oxley said that in addition to dealings with the Premier League, the regulator had "listened carefully to football fans themselves, who expressed a range of views about how many matches should be televised" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/8).
