Armchair football fans face bills of £1,000 ($1,300) per year to watch coverage of the top European leagues next season, "after the number of platforms showing exclusive action increased again to five," according to Tom Morgan of the London TELEGRAPH. Packages ensuring full televised coverage of the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga and Serie A cost "more than the most expensive season tickets at Old Trafford or the Etihad Stadium." Fans of Italian and Dutch football are facing an extra £9.99 ($13) a month from next season after broadcaster Premier Sports announced it acquired the rights from "troubled" streaming service Eleven Sports, which will now show only La Liga for £4.99 ($6.50) a month. The Premier League was "already set to send bills soaring" from next season. A Virgin package for BT Sport and Sky Sports is currently £77 ($100), increasing to £104 ($135) a month after 12 months, and fans will have to pay an extra £7.99 ($10) a month for Amazon Prime for an additional 20 top-tier matches. The "price hike" for the consumer has "sent profits soaring for the clubs." The first year of the current Premier League TV rights cycle "fuelled the biggest gain over European rivals," with TV revenue increasing by 47%, currently totaling £2.8B ($3.6B) in global rights pay packets (TELEGRAPH, 1/30).
