Sky pays £1bn to screen live Premier League football games

SATELLITE broadcaster Sky has agreed to pay more than £1billion to show live football in a recession-defying deal with the Premier League.

The company has cemented its status as the main broadcaster of top-flight football by retaining 92 of the 138 matches up for grabs in an auction run by the Premier League.

Although European Union rules prohibit an exclusive deal, Sky has clinched four of the six packages for the 2010-2013 seasons. These include the premium television slots, including the Sunday 4pm kick-off.

The Premier League confirmed the deal last night though no figures were released. But it is believed that the company will have paid close to the present £1.314billion.

The League will go to a second round on the two outstanding packages in an auction thought to involve Sky, Setanta and ESPN.

The League will hope to exceed the £1.7billion from the 2007-2010 seasons and set a new record to the delight of chief executive Richard Scudamore.

The deal is a sign that top-flight football is weathering the recession and comes after £160million was spent in the month-long transfer window which closed on Monday. Arab wealth at Manchester City accounted for some of that spending, although it is the television income that underpins the League's finances.

Under EU regulations, Sky is entitled to own five out of the six packages, and with ESPN, the Disney-owned broadcasting giant, joining the bidding - and Setanta desperate to keep the two packages it bought for £392million last time - there will be a further round of bids.

The process is kept so secretive that none of the companies knows who it is bidding against, or how many rivals are involved.

Sky was always expected to bid for the 2010-2013 rights. Half-year results announced last week showed operating profits up 31 per cent to £385million.

Broadcasters remain confident in the strength of the Premier League to attract subscribers.

Money from the television companies has attracted some of the world's leading stars and two English clubs, Manchester United and Chelsea, contested the Champions League final last May.

It is the most popular league in the world and, having recently missed out on the rights for German football, ESPN is known to have set about securing a significant presence in Europe by winning Premier League rights.

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