Sky and BT are not expected to engage in aggressive bidding in the latest round of Premier League television rights. One factor is the recent signing of a content signing arrangement between BT and Sky which will start in 2019. This will allow Sky to offer the BT sports channel to its satellite subscriber base and make Now TV, its lower cost streaming service, available to BT customers.
There is always the prospect of a big technology company such as Amazon or Facebook getting involved. Executives at Sky would probably not be able to match the financial muscle of Silicon Valley giants should they get involved. However, they would probably not want rights that are confined to the UK. Their interest is in global rights.
A significant clause in the Premier League's tender document shows that it is thinking of new media in the future. The league said that its new rights package would be available on a 'technology neutral' basis, meaning that it is open to showing matches exclusively online.
In the longer run there is the issue of Walt Disney's $66bn offer for the assets of 20th Century Fox. This will take at least a year to clear US regulators so it will not influence this year's deal.
A Disney-owned Sky should give the media company more ability to compete for media rights. The combination of Disney with Fox's other entertainment assets, such as the US regional sports networks that it is buying, could create a world leader in sports broadcasting. Disney already owns ESPN, the sports cable network.
This year's domestic rights deal may not see much of an above inflation increase in revenues. However, the Premier League sees continuing scope for growth in the value of overseas rights which at £3bn are already approaching 60 per cent of the value of domestic rights.
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