Yahoo is paying less than half the fee paid by Virgin Media in the present deal, in a further example of the falling value of the league’s ancillary new-media rights packages. Earlier this month ESPN won the mobile clip rights, also for a significantly-reduced fee.
A new deal for the league’s near-live delayed rights, at present held jointly by BSkyB and BT in a three-year, £84.3 million contract, is expected imminently.