Virgin Media "appealed to Ofcom to halt the Premier League’s auction" of its U.K. broadcast rights to allow the regulator to complete its investigation into alleged breaches of competition law, according to Blitz & Thomas of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The Premier League "called for first round bids by February 6 for the sought-after rights, which are shared by BT and Sky." They "are lining up to compete for the three-year rights period" which start with the '16-17 season. Discovery Communications, whose biggest shareholder is U.S. billionaire John Malone, "is a potential challenger for the rights," which analysts say could increase in value by a third to £4B ($6B). Virgin Media, which is owned by Malone’s Liberty Global, "fears being squeezed by a rights value increase, because it resells sports contents of other channels at a loss to protect its broadband service" (
FT, 1/28). In London, Tara Conlan wrote Virgin "has now filed an application for the auction to be halted at the eleventh hour." The company said, “If the auction continues unchecked, Ofcom’s ability to act will be prejudiced and it will likely be 2019 until the next opportunity to reign-in the rampant inflation in prices for viewers.” Virgin Media Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Brigitte Trafford said, “The
Premier League has pushed ahead with its early sale of TV rights despite Ofcom’s investigation. With 18 months until those deals begin, there is plenty of time for Ofcom to pause the auction process while it completes its inquiries" (
GUARDIAN, 1/28). Also in London, Ben Rumsby wrote the EPL’s plan to conclude the auction "risks being thrown into chaos." Confirming the Virgin application, Ofcom said it aimed to “reach a decision in a matter of days." The Premier League "responded angrily to the development, declaring it had informed Ofcom almost two months ago of its intention to begin its auction in February." It added, “A self-serving media release from Virgin Media should have no bearing on the sale of the Premier League’s rights. Given the global interest in our rights, it is essential that we give successful bidders ample time to put plans in place to utilise fully the rights they acquire" (
TELEGRAPH, 1/28). In N.Y., Simon Zekaria wrote Virgin Media argues that Ofcom said that "the proportion of matches made available for live television broadcast under the current Premier League rights deals, at 41%, is lower than that offered by some other leading European leagues." The Premier League "now offers rights to 154 live matches a season, out of 380 total matches." The complaint also alleges that "this contributes to higher prices for consumers of pay-TV packages that include premium sports channels and for pay-TV retailers of premium sports channels" (
WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/28).
