Telegraph:
Sky Television's monopoly on screening live Premiership games will come to an end after the Premier League and the European Commission ended their legal battle over the sale of broadcasting rights.
Months of negotiations ended when the EC yesterday formally agreed to allow the League to continue to sell the rights for all 20 clubs together, after the Premier League committed to ensuring that no single broadcaster would be allowed to buy all of the live packages from 2007.
The Premier League welcomed the end to the arguments and, in a statement, chief executive Richard Scudamore said: "This decision creates legal certainty for the FA Premier League and our clubs as to how we sell our rights from the 2007-08 season onwards.
"It is also a good outcome for supporters, whether in the stadium or watching our broadcasts.
"The FAPL believe that the conditions are now in place to create maximum interest for our audiovisual rights and to take the world's most popular domestic football competition from strength to strength."
In 2003, the Premier League awarded a £1.024 billion exclusive deal to BSkyB from 2004 to 2007. The EU complained that there was too little football left for free TV.
Under the new agreed arrangements, more football coverage rights, including television, mobile phone and internet, will be made available for sale in open bidding to be scrutinised by an independent trustee. The rights for live coverage of Premier League games will be sold in six "packages" and no one buyer will be allowed to buy more than five.
Neelie Kroes, the European competition commissioner, had threatened legal action against the Premier League unless the broadcast market for live games was opened up.
Kroes had claimed the original plans to sell future rights restricted viewing choice for British football fans and could be a breach of EU rules on fair competition. Yesterday's agreement will also cover broadcast sales arrangements for the next sales period up to the end of June 2013.