TV Rights for English Premier League Up for Grabs

LONDON: The English Premier League has opened the auction for a new TV deal in the U.K., promising an increase in the number of live matches broadcast each season by 12 percent.

The League gets some $2.9 billion for live rights under its current agreement, which runs for one more season. The tender issues for the domestic broadcast rights will be for the next three seasons, starting from 2013-14. Seven packages of screening rights are on offer for broadcasters, five of which have 26 games and two have 12. No one buyer can acquire more than 116 games in total.

"This creates a more attractive and compelling offering for both broadcasters and fans; whilst allowing the continued protection of the Saturday 3 p.m. ‘closed window’ and minimizing further displacement of Premier League fixtures," the Premier League said in a statement.
Under the current deal, BSkyB shows 115 games per season; ESPN has a further 23. Reports indicate that a challenge from Al Jazeera is to be expected this time around.

A separate sale process will be held for two "near live" packages, each with 226 matches, and an Internet-based clips package for all 380 matches.