Sorry, that was an awful pun. This from Mihir Bose in the Telegraph:
‘Ofcom, the Government quango who regulate broadcasting, have emerged as the new threat to the next Premier League television deal, which will replace the one ends in 2007. Ofcom want to cut Sky down to size and promote a satellite channel that could break the near monopoly enjoyed by Rupert Murdoch's channel. They believe that competition will be good for the viewers, that there should be a plethora of service providers and more competition will also bring more innovation.
‘However, some Premier League chairmen fear that the League could earn less money from their next television deal. Also, whatever the state of the market, the Premier League will be under pressure from smaller clubs to do the deal this year, as their banks will want reassurance that this lifeline for the clubs is intact.
‘Outwardly Ofcom have nothing to do with the Premier League television deal - that is a matter for the European Union - but behind the scenes they are helping to shape the EU strategy.
‘Under recent changes to European legislation the EU consult the regulator of the country concerned. Ofcom have been asked to advise them on the deal and the state of the television market in Britain. Premier League clubs have been told Ofcom want to use football to promote another satellite channel as a rival to Sky, in much the same way that Sky used football to get out of near bankruptcy and launch themselves as a major channel.’