UK pay-television operator Virgin Media has stepped up its claim for UK media regulator Ofcom to allow more games from football’s English Premier League to be broadcast live on television by releasing research detailing that the majority of fans want access to further coverage of matches.
The Virgin Media study found that of the 1,000 supporters surveyed, 77 per cent wanted more Premier League games broadcast on television. Only six per cent of fans said they were able to watch every game they wanted on television at home.
The study also noted that the amount of games available on television in the UK has increased just 21 per cent over the past eight years, while the price of rights has increased almost 200 per cent in the same period.
Virgin Media also highlighted how broadcasters in other countries are permitted to show coverage of all EPL matches, while UK broadcasters remain limited as to how much they can show.
The research was published today (Wednesday) as Ofcom approaches the first anniversary of its investigation into the sale of Premier League rights. Ofcom opened its investigation in November 2014 under the UK’s Competition Act, following a complaint from Virgin Media submitted in September 2014. Virgin Media claimed that “significant consumer harm resulting from escalating rights costs” could be addressed through changes to the model for selling live rights to the top division of English football.
Virgin Media’s complaint alleges that the current arrangements for the collective selling of live UK television rights by the Premier League are in breach of competition law. In particular, the complaint raises concerns about the number of Premier League matches made available for live coverage.
Ofcom in February rejected an attempt by Virgin Media to halt the sales process for the next round of domestic rights to the Premier League. UK pay-television broadcaster Sky went on to pay an increase of more than 80 per cent in its rights fee over the next three-season cycle, from 2016-17 to 2018-19, committing a total of £4.176bn (€5.5bn/$6.3bn) over the cycle for 126 matches per year through five packages. Rival pay-television broadcaster BT Sport will pay an average of £320m per year for 42 games in the other two packages.
Tom Mockridge, chief executive of Virgin Media, said: “Football fans are getting a raw deal. They pay the highest prices in Europe to watch top-flight football on TV yet are denied some of the best matches. Ofcom should show the red card to the Premier League and the way in which TV rights are sold in the UK.”
Commenting specifically on the Ofcom investigation, Mockridge added: “It’s time Ofcom decides whether an auction structure based on now-expired commitments agreed in 2006 justifies a self-determined exemption from competition law. The results surely speak for themselves, over the same period the cost of live TV rights have rocketed by nearly 200 per cent.”