Broadcasting and the foundation of the Premier League
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The foundation of the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
in
English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
occurred in the early 1990s. A proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled at the end of the
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season. It received the support of representatives of all eighteen First Division clubs, as well as
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
(FA) through its "Blueprint for the Future of Football" publication. The
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
was actualised in stages: the signing of the Founder Members Agreement on 17 July 1991, clubs handing a joint notice of resignation from the Football League, and the final go-ahead from the FA who administered affairs. The Premier League was created "to prevent the top clubs from losing income to the lower leagues", but also served the purpose of maximising the clubs' bargaining position for when the next television contract was up for renewal. ITV held exclusive rights to live Football League matches, having paid £44 million over a four-year period (1988–1992). The arrangement came after the withdrawal of a joint bid made by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and
British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was a television company, headquartered in London, that provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. They started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company was merged with ...
(BSB). Both broadcasters later obtained rights to
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
football. Unlike the Football League, the Premier League was set up with a two-man board:
Rick Parry Rick Parry (born 23 February 1955) is the current chairman of the EFL, the former chief executive of Liverpool, the original CEO of the Premier League and a board member at New York Cosmos. Career Rick Parry was educated at the Kings School Ch ...
, the chief executive, and Sir John Quinton who was appointed as the league's chairman in December 1991. Decisions would be taken on by all members, through a one club-one vote motion. A clear majority needed two-thirds.


The big five

The first major step to its formation occurred in October 1990, when the managing director of
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
(LWT),
Greg Dyke Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist, and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing ' ...
, met with the representatives of the "big five" clubs -
David Dein David Barry Dein (b. 7 September 1943) is a British businessman, known for being a former co-owner and vice-chairman of Arsenal Football Club, and former vice-chairman of the Football Association. Dein was vice-chairman of Arsenal between 198 ...
of Arsenal, Philip Carter of Everton,
Noel White Noel White (16 December 1929 – 30 June 2019) was a businessman, football club chairman, director and administrator from the North West of England. He was one of the founding architects of the Premier League and Life Vice President of T ...
of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, Martin Edwards of Manchester United and Irving Scholar of
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
. The meeting was to pave the way for a breakaway from the Football League. Dyke believed that it would be more lucrative for ITV if only the larger clubs in the country were featured on national television and wanted to establish whether the clubs would be interested in a larger share of television rights money. Talk of a super league of elite English clubs had been frequently mentioned by various footballing bodies, and by the media, since the mid 1980s. The fundamental difference between the old Football League and the breakaway league (what became the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
) is that the money in the breakaway league would only be divided between the clubs active in that division whilst in the previous arrangement it was shared between all Football League clubs across all divisions. The plan was drawn up for a Premier League of 18 clubs to be created in time for the 1992–93 season, although the recently announced plan to increase the First Division from 20 to 22 clubs for the 1991–92 season still went ahead, as the creation of the Premier League had still not been confirmed by this stage. However, 14 of the 22 clubs who would be competing in that season's First Division had agreed to form a breakaway league of their own if the Football Association's bid to create a breakaway league failed. The five clubs decided it was a good idea and decided to press ahead with it, however the league would have no credibility without the backing of
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
and so
David Dein David Barry Dein (b. 7 September 1943) is a British businessman, known for being a former co-owner and vice-chairman of Arsenal Football Club, and former vice-chairman of the Football Association. Dein was vice-chairman of Arsenal between 198 ...
of Arsenal F.C. held talks to see whether the FA were receptive to the idea. The FA did not enjoy an amicable relationship with the Football League at the time and considered it as a way to weaken the Football League's position. Football League president Bill Fox even described the FA's plans to form a breakaway league as an attempt to "hijack" the First Division.


Broadcasting rights

The
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
was formed with the intention of
English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
's top clubs capitalising on television rights. Whereas in the Football League money is distributed to the lower leagues, the Premier League intended to sell its own rights, with earnings from broadcasts divided equally between the member clubs only. The decision to break away and start a new league also gave clubs the chance to vote on decisions through a one club-one vote motion. Premier League chief executive
Rick Parry Rick Parry (born 23 February 1955) is the current chairman of the EFL, the former chief executive of Liverpool, the original CEO of the Premier League and a board member at New York Cosmos. Career Rick Parry was educated at the Kings School Ch ...
and chairman Sir John Quinton were assigned the task of finding suitors. Parry initially favoured working with ITV, led by
Greg Dyke Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist, and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing ' ...
, but wanted the network to pay in excess of £30 million for live football. In the meantime BSkyB – a company formed by the merger of
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
's Sky Television, and
British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was a television company, headquartered in London, that provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. They started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company was merged with ...
– looked into the possibility of obtaining live rights to the Premier League. BSkyB chief executive
Sam Chisholm Samuel Hewlings Chisholm AO (8 October 1939 – 9 July 2018) was a New Zealand-born Australian media executive who was a significant figure in the Australian media. Career Chisholm attended King's College, Auckland. Chisholm had been f ...
attempted to make a joint offer with ITV which did not come into fruition, so he formed an alliance with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, aware the corporation wanted a highlights package. Although Chisholm was against Parry's idea of a football-only channel, he built a rapport with the Premier League and his company invited Parry to its facilities in Livingston, where he spoke to Murdoch in person. Nearer the time of the vote Chisholm made a successful pitch to the league chairmen which worried Dyke. He phoned the ITV franchises and advised them to raise their collective bid – this came to a total of £262 million. Upon receiving the bid on the day of the vote, Parry phoned Chisholm and advised him to bid higher. Chisholm in turn telephoned Murdoch to seek his permission and submitted a new offer which totalled £304 million.
Trevor East Trevor James East (born 22 October 1950)The Guardian, Monday 9 July 2007Media 100/ref> was originally presenter of Tiswas; stooge to Chris Tarrant and Derby County obsessed. He was subsequently ranked 27 in The Guardian's "Media 100" most influenti ...
of ITV heard Sugar on the telephone speaking to Murdoch at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London in May 1992 advising an increased bid for the television rights. Sugar is alleged to have told Murdoch to "Blow them out of the water". At the clubs' meeting, Parry recommended BSkyB's joint bid with the BBC which won the vote by 14 to 6 with two abstentions. The deal was scrutinised by much of the English print media and leading figures of English football. ITV sought legal action after learning BSkyB had submitted an improved bid without their knowledge, but their case was thrown out of the High Court. BSkyB's continued partnership with the Premier League has led to an increase in the value of broadcasting rights and matches televised. Managers however have voiced their concerns about the latter and the excessive cost of live rights is partly a reason why top-flight football has not returned to the BBC or ITV. In 2005 BSkyB's monopoly on live rights ended after the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
ruled that the Premier League needed to have more than one holder.


Involvement of BSkyB

In November 1990,
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
's Sky Television merged with satellite competitor BSB to form a new company – BSkyB. The takeover created problems for Murdoch as the company was losing £14 million per week. Cost-cutting measures were imposed by BSkyB's new chief executive
Sam Chisholm Samuel Hewlings Chisholm AO (8 October 1939 – 9 July 2018) was a New Zealand-born Australian media executive who was a significant figure in the Australian media. Career Chisholm attended King's College, Auckland. Chisholm had been f ...
, one being the successful negotiation of cheaper contracts to screen films from Hollywood studios. Although their financial position was far more stable by the end of 1991, BSkyB accumulated £2 billion in debt and stood to lose £1.5 million per week. To counteract this, the company considered purchasing
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
, but Murdoch decided against it because the price was too high. BSkyB therefore was left with three options: offer its subscribers pornography, major films or exclusive sporting events. The first presented itself with "too many problems" and BSkyB for the second were not prepared to renegotiate with the film industry. Sport was seen as the best choice; BSkyB already held rights to cricket and rugby league and assembled talent to present its growing football coverage. Chisholm identified the Premier League as a target, aware that smaller clubs did not favour ITV's coverage. Live rights to top-flight football was moreover unaffordable for the BBC, whose priority was restoring ''
Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary ...
'' to its traditional spot on Saturday evenings. Murdoch's previous foray into the sport was advising
Amstrad Amstrad was a British electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar at the age of 21. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstra ...
chairman
Alan Sugar Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician and political adviser. In 1968, he started what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics com ...
to support
Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...
's takeover bid for
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
. The club, on the verge of bankruptcy, courted newspaper owner
Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from ...
, someone whom Murdoch regarded as a threat. Murdoch chose not to make a bid for Tottenham himself, for conflict of interest reasons, and used his newspapers to create momentum in favour of Sugar.


Bidding process

The Premier League intended to sell its own television rights, with the proceeds going directly to the 22 member clubs. Parry and Quinton were assigned the task of finding suitors, but the former's negotiation skills worried Arsenal chairman
David Dein David Barry Dein (b. 7 September 1943) is a British businessman, known for being a former co-owner and vice-chairman of Arsenal Football Club, and former vice-chairman of the Football Association. Dein was vice-chairman of Arsenal between 198 ...
. He persuaded the clubs to set up a separate working party, which led by himself,
Ron Noades Ronald Geoffrey Noades (22 June 1937 – 24 December 2013) was an English businessman, best known for his investments in football clubs. He was the chairman of Southall, Wimbledon, Crystal Palace and finally Brentford. He was also the manager o ...
and Bill Fotherby in October 1991 came to an agreement of the sale of a shared package. The party was short-lived however; hostility towards Dein meant the other clubs settled with Parry and Quinton in charge of matters. As
Mihir Bose Mihir Bose (born 12 January 1947) is a British Indian journalist and author. He writes a weekly "Big Sports Interview" for the ''London Evening Standard'', and also writes and broadcasts on sport and social and historical issues for several ou ...
, author of ''Game Changer: How the English Premier League Came to Dominate the World'' notes, "That did not prevent rival club chairman from meeting competing broadcasters on their own." Dein for instance visited
Greg Dyke Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist, and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing ' ...
, chairman of
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
(LWT), and was offered £4 million per year, over four seasons in pursuance of live Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United,
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
and Everton home games on ITV. Dyke intended to make the same offer to the fifteen other Premier League clubs. By November 1991, BSkyB's interest in Premier League rights had become publicised. The company met with Noades and
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chairman
Ken Bates Kenneth William Bates (born 4 December 1931) is a British businessman, football executive and hotelier. He was involved in the development of Wembley Stadium and is the former owner and chairman of football clubs Chelsea and Leeds United. Bate ...
, though nothing came to fruition. Bates wanted an end to ITV's monopoly, whereas Noades felt pay-per-view (PPV) was the way forward. BSkyB's head of sport David Hill believed there was too much football and he wanted the season to be shortened much like the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. Parry, present at the talks was unimpressed and recorded in his diary for 21 November 1991: "Shambles. Noades/Bates at cross purposes – ludicrous ideas from Hill!" Dein in the meantime pursued an offer from a television consortium, funded by the
Swiss Bank Corporation Swiss Bank Corporation was a Swiss investment bank and financial services company located in Switzerland. Prior to its merger, the bank was the third largest in Switzerland with over CHF300 billion of assets and CHF11.7 billion of equ ...
(SBC). They intended to create a football-only channel, available on the Astra satellite transponder. ''The Observer'' believed that in addition to broadcasting league matches, SBC would offer a selection of top clubs fees for airing matches against their European counterparts. Dein was impressed by the proposal – financier Chris Akers forecasted profits of up to £50 million – so he forwarded it to Parry. Although he too was impressed, SBC's offer eventually failed because of sponsorship doubts. At the beginning of 1992 Parry favoured a deal with ITV, but thought the network should be prepared to pay up towards £30 million for live football. At a meeting in January 1992, Dyke made it clear ITV would not be positioned as they were already paying too much for football. He and executive director
Trevor East Trevor James East (born 22 October 1950)The Guardian, Monday 9 July 2007Media 100/ref> was originally presenter of Tiswas; stooge to Chris Tarrant and Derby County obsessed. He was subsequently ranked 27 in The Guardian's "Media 100" most influenti ...
commented on BSkyB's debt and felt the company would be forced to increase their borrowing if they were awarded a contract. This did not dissuade Quinton, who urged Murdoch to bid. Quinton even informed Chisholm that there were no bidding rules. Before Sky made a formalised bid, Murdoch asked Chisholm to speak to Dyke about making a joint offer. The events of that meeting are vague, but what is clear was that Chisholm came to the decision of not working with ITV. He instead chose to pursue an alliance with the BBC, aware of the cultural importance of ''Match of the Day''. In February 1992, Quinton met Murdoch over lunch to go over his expectations, with the idea of a Premier League dedicated channel high on his priority. ITV had in the same month revealed plans to offer the league £80m over four years in exchange for exclusive rights. Dyke believed their deal would fend off BSkyB, but the BBC's quiet stance weakened ITV's position. When the first bids had been tabled by March 1992, Parry and Quinton enlisted the help of Academy, a market research company to look at sponsorship potential, and
David Plowright David Ernest Plowright (11 December 1930 – 24 August 2006) was a British television executive and producer. Life Plowright was educated at Scunthorpe Grammar School. He began his career in journalism as a reporter on the ''Scunthorpe Sta ...
for advice on broadcasting issues. SBC around this time submitted plans for a dedicated football channel and wrote to Parry about the long-term issues the league would face if they sold out to Sky. Chisholm was against a football-only channel; Parry recorded a meeting between the two in his diary for 12 March 1992: Chisholm submitted his offer with the BBC, which promoted the return of ''Match of the Day''. He told Parry that BSkyB would move its sports coverage on a subscription basis if they obtained rights – the network's revenues up until then "had derived entirely from conventional sales of advertising." To build up support, Sky aired the ''Footballers' Football Show'' – a highbrow programme that invited Premier League chairmen to offer insight about the sport. This tactic concerned ITV, who in the meantime prepared a bid for Football League rights as a fall back. Nearer the time of the vote, Sky invited Parry to their facilities in Livingston. He was given time to speak to Murdoch, who promised him his newspapers would back the Premier League if BSkyB won rights. In April 1992, ITV offered Parry an improved bid of £34 million per year, which bettered the BBC's joint-bid with BSkyB. East was confident of closing the deal – he was supported by 11 club chairmen and was informed that ITV's rivals would have to come up with £100 million a year to better their offer. Parry was undecided as to which bid he preferred; though he favoured a non-exclusive deal with ITV, he wanted the reconsider its decision to work with subscription companies. He harboured the idea of a football channel and noted SBC's approval amongst other clubs. Parry also hoped BSkyB would increase their bid, which they later did.


"Blow them out of the water"

Parry arranged for the league chairmen to vote on 18 May 1992. Four days earlier BSkyB and ITV made their formal presentations to the chairmen; Chisholm hinted to his audience that BSkyB would increase their offer. This concerned Dyke, who on the weekend before the vote arranged an urgent meeting with East. They both telephoned the ITV companies to convince them to raise their collective bid. It came to a total of £262 million – £155 million of which spread out over five years, for 30 live games per season. East presented their new offer to the chairmen and Parry. Having received ITV's improved bid, Parry on the day of the vote phoned an anxious Chisholm. He urged him to bid higher and agreed to delay the voting procedure. Chisholm called an emergency meeting, where he was told by one company advisor not to match ITV's offer. Chisholm decided against and phoned Murdoch in New York in the early hours to seek permission to raise BSkyB's bid. Their new offer totalled £304 million; £35 million for 60 live games which rose to £40 million in the fifth year. Chisholm telephoned Parry and faxed him the details of BSkyB's bid. It was claimed that East saw Sugar on the morning of the vote talking to someone about ITV's bid and telling them to "blow them out of the water." Sugar originally denied this, but in later years confessed it was in fact Chisholm. Parry resumed the clubs' meeting and recommended BSkyB's offer to the chairmen. He believed the company was a frontrunner in encryption services and was pleased they offered a 50–50 partnership with the Premier League to exploit PPV. BSkyB's alliance with the BBC also convinced Parry; when he informed Dyke of this, the ITV chairman threatened to do a deal directly with the clubs which angered him. During the meeting Dein attempted to get Sugar disqualified from casting his vote on grounds the Tottenham Hotspur chairman had vested interest, but was overruled. Dein also questioned BSkyB's debt, to which Quinton retorted "Are there any guarantees that we will get our money? Every company goes into debt." BSkyB eventually won the vote by 14 to 6, with two abstentions. Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Leeds United, Liverpool and Manchester United voted in favour of ITV. Had Tottenham Hotspur also sided with ITV, the two-thirds majority would not have applied.


Reaction

Parry was delighted with the outcome: "After many days of being behind the closed doors we are confident BSkyB and the BBC will be committed to taking us into the next century." Chisholm felt the deal would mark a new era in football, adding: "We promised Sky subscribers the widest possible choice in sports and entertainment when we launched and that is a promise we intend to keep." The return of ''Match of the Day'' pleased Martin, as was securing the rights to Liverpool's European matches the following season: "Alongside the FA Cup, England's home internationals and the return of ''Match of the Day'' with Premier League games, the BBC's pattern of football coverage is shaping up nicely."
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
chairman
Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1 ...
was inquisitive about the telephone calls made by
Marmaduke Hussey Marmaduke James Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley (29 August 1923 – 27 December 2006), known as Duke Hussey, was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC from 1986 to 1996, serving two terms in that role. Education and career The so ...
and
Michael Checkland Sir Michael Checkland (born 13 March 1936) was Director-General of the BBC from 1987 to 1992, being appointed after the forced resignation of Alasdair Milne. Early life Michael Checkland was educated at the state grammar school King Edward ...
which signalled the corporation's u-turn, and said BSkyB was "a monster that could devour it in due course." Dyke believed it was significant that "six of the largest clubs" voted against BSkyB. He wrote a formal letter to Quinton which asked for the bidding process to be reopened as the network was barred from bettering BSkyB's bid. Quinton however rejected the plea and clarified the league's stance: BSkyB's bid was better "... not only in money terms but as far as the potential for future income is concerned." The ITV companies sought legal action, claiming a breach of obligation on behalf of Quinton and Parry. East revealed that it was only after BSkyB had won did they discover the company had submitted an improved bid: "At no stage were we informed that Sky had put in another bid and nor were we given any opportunity to increase our bid in response." Parry said ITV would have won broadcasting rights had they "allowed us to have a pay channel in the long term and it had terrestrial coverage in the short-term." The High Court refused to grant an injunction; the judge concluded the matter was "a great deal more difficult than it seems at first sight" and it would be wrong to force the league to consider new offers. The court however found an arguable case for a
breach of confidence The tort of breach of confidence is, in United States law, a common law tort that protects private information that is conveyed in confidence. A claim for breach of confidence typically requires the information to be of a confidential nature, whi ...
. Soon afterwards, ITV issued a
writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...
seeking damages against the FA and Premier League. They also submitted a separate complaint to the Office of Fair Trading to look into Murdoch's newspapers. The deal attracted mass attention from the media. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' noted that this was a "remarkable coup" for BSkyB, given the company's fluctuating fortunes. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' correspondent David Lacey suggested that fans were the biggest losers: "A lot of people who want to watch matches regularly in future are going to have to buy a bond or a dish."
Bryan Davies, Baron Davies of Oldham Bryan Davies, Baron Davies of Oldham, PC (born 9 November 1939) is a Labour member of the House of Lords. He served as Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords from 2003 to 2010, and as usual for a holder of that position, also held ...
described the arrangement as "absolutely appalling" and
Football Supporters' Association The Football Supporters' Association (The FSA) is the national, democratic, representative body for football supporters in England and Wales. They are the leading advocates for supporter ownership, better fan engagement, cheaper ticket prices, t ...
chairman Craig Brewin criticised the "obscene" amounts of money clubs earned as part of the deal. Everton chairman David Marsh was disappointed with the introduction of football on Monday nights, as it disrupted "the social life of British society and the fans." Liverpool were also critical; when asked if the club would refuse to play games scheduled on that particular day, chief executive Peter Robinson replied: "I cannot answer that because I don't know whether we would be contractually able to refuse." Both Merseyside clubs offered its season ticket holders a refund for matches rescheduled for Monday nights, provided fans gave a seven-day notice. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said the prospect of playing on Sunday and Monday was a disadvantage to his and other clubs' chances in Europe. He called for an urgent discussion with other managers about the game's future: "A deal was stampeded without consultation with the most important people in the game, the managers and the players whose livelihoods are at stake. ... It's the most ludicrous and backward decision football has taken. We managers must seriously question its wisdom."


Legacy

The Premier League benefited financially from BSkyB's involvement in football and has since seen an increase in the value of broadcasting rights and number of matches televised. A review by
Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professio ...
in 2014 showed that the Premier League generated more revenue than of any football league in the world, with total club revenues of £2.5 billion in 2012–13. BSkyB in turn gained from having exclusive rights to top-flight football; the company made a £62m profit in 1993 following a loss the previous year. Journalist
David Conn David Conn is a sports journalist who writes for ''The Guardian''. He attended Bury Grammar School before studying English Literature & Politics at the University of York. He has written four books. Three of them, ''The Football Business: ...
in a piece for ''The Guardian'' noted how BSkyB used Premier League football to build its business over two decades, adding "... therefore the financial power of the Murdoch empire, remains founded on the in-the-blood loyalty of football supporters." Live English top-flight football has remained off
free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...
television in Britain, with few exceptions. It was not until 2006 that BSkyB's monopoly on Premier League television rights was broken; this came after an investigation by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
which concluded that exclusive rights should not be sold to one television company.
Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...
was awarded two packages, but encountered financial difficulties by 2009 and went into administration. Their rights were sold to
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
, who showed a total of 46 matches that were available for the 2009–10 season and subsequently 23 from
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
to
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
. In June 2012, the Premier League awarded BT rights to 38 games over three seasons, starting from 2013–14. BT's introduction into the football broadcasting market has been considered a threat to BSkyB's dominance, particularly as the company was awarded exclusive rights to live
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
football in 2013. Although Ferguson later praised television's part in aiding the Premier League, he maintained the league's freedom of control continued to impair club's chances in European competitions: "You get some ridiculous situations when you're playing on Wednesday night in Europe and then at lunchtime the following Saturday. You ask any manager if they would pick that themselves ... there'd be no chance." He likened television to God and said "When you shake hands with the devil you have to pay the price." Arsène Wenger also criticised the influence television companies had over scheduling: "At the moment, television decides. You cannot have decisive games with one team playing Friday and Tuesday, and another on Sunday and Tuesday."


1992

On 27 May 1992, the Premier League was officially formed, with the first fixtures to be played on 15 August 1992. The new league would involve the 19 highest-placed teams in that season's First Division as well as the champions, runners-up and playoff winners from the Second Division. The old Second Division would be renamed Division One, the Third Division would become Division Two and the Fourth Division would become Division Three. The three-up, three-down system of promotion and relegation, established in 1974 (although there had since been exceptions to the system on occasions when the league was being reorganised) would continue in the future.


Judicial review

Following a trial in the
Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...
of the High Court by Mr Justice Rose, it was held that the formation of the Premier League was not subject to
judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...
,
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
being governed by private law.


Notes


See also

*
English football on television English football on television has been broadcast since 1938. Since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992, English football has become a very lucrative industry. As of the 2013-14 season, domestic television rights for the 20-team Premi ...


References

Specific


Bibliography

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Further reading

* * * * {{Premier League Premier League found 1992 in British television