The heads of BT and Sky have "attempted to play down the prospect of a frantic bidding war in the impending auction of European football rights, after a huge rise in the most recent sale of television rights for England’s Premier League," according to Nic Fildes of the FINANCIAL TIMES. BT "outflanked its rivals" Sky and ITV in '13, when it bid £900M for the exclusive broadcast rights to Champions League and Europa League football in the U.K. European football became "the backbone" of BT Sport, but the "shock win triggered a wave of inflation for sports rights." A June auction of rights to broadcast German Bundesliga football saw an 85% rise. That has "led to expectations Sky might fight it hard to win back Champions League rights in Britain, at an auction due in the coming months." But Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch said that "the higher cost of sports rights meant that telecoms and media companies were having to make 'harder choices.'" Darroch: "We will seek to win but we're also happy to let things go." That sentiment was echoed by BT CEO Gavin Patterson who said "there was a limit to what the telecoms company was willing to pay." Patterson: "[European football] has been a great driver for us. It’s worked well and brought in new customers and a paying-for audience which was what we wanted. We know what it's worth to us and we will go no further than that. If the price becomes too rich, we will have to walk away" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 11/17).
