There will be "considerable concern" around football that viewing figures for Sky Sports’ live Premier League matches this season "have dropped by a whopping" 19%, according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. The "dramatic year-on-year fall" has occurred in the first season of a new rights deal with Sky and BT Sport having paid over £5B between them for their three-year contracts for the match packages. The "surprise slide in Sky’s ratings comes despite an exciting start to the season plus the huge hype surrounding the managerial tussle" between Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp. It has been "put down to factors including illegal streaming of matches, a hot summer, and the rival attraction of the Olympics." But "should the downward curve continue for the rest of the season this would be a frightening scenario for the Premier League, the clubs and all the TV rights holders" (DAILY MAIL, 10/14). RT reported Sky Sports execs "claim they are not worried by early season viewing figures for Premier League matches, after it was revealed they have dropped by almost a fifth compared to this time last year." A Sky spokesperson said, "It is a premature comparison when several high-profile matches such as Liverpool vs. Manchester United have yet to air on Sky Sports. We have shown the top 10 most viewed Premier League games so far this season" (RT, 10/15).
