Denis Campbell in The Observer:
Premiership clubs are set to suffer a sharp drop in their income. It seems certain to lead to a battle with players over salary levels and to a squabble over cash between the rich clubs and the clubs that are less well off. The most commercially successful league in the world will experience the first fall in income in its history because Sky's monopoly on the broadcasting of live games has been declared illegal by the European Commission.
EC sources told Observer Sport yesterday that when the Premier League's television deal ends in 2007, the Commission will ensure that at least one other broadcaster, probably the BBC or ITV, can then screen live matches too. The EC has estimated that the legal move will lead to a reduction of about 12.5per cent in the value of the League's domestic TV contract.
This is the money that underpins the 20 clubs' ability to sign and keep so many of the world's best players. The projected fall works out at about £2m per club per season based on the sums paid for the current deal.
'After 2007 there will be at least two broadcasters of live matches,' said an EC official who has worked on negotiations with the League. 'We have already reached a provisional agreement with the League about this. We want to give clubs as big a lead-in to this as possible to adjust to the financial impact of the estimated 12.5per cent loss of value in the next contract. Obviously the exact amount depends on market conditions at the time, but that is our projection.'
The EC official explained that the change will lower the price Sky are prepared to pay. The satellite broadcaster will lose the all-important monopoly for which they have paid an 'exclusivity premium' as part of the billions of pounds they have spent buying the rights to live games since the Premiership kicked off in 1992.