Advanced Television

Sky wins extra Premier package

February 10, 2009

The second round of bidding for pay-TV rights of Premier League saw Sky secure one of the two remaining TV packages to air live games from 2010 to 2013, meaning it will have one more and Setanta one less than under the current deal. Setanta took the remaining package in the auction that netted the Premier League a total of £1.78 billion (E2.03bn), the same as it did for the current deal, which expires at the end of the current season.

Sky paid more than £1bn for four packages of 92 prime live matches, making its total payout £1.62bn for five out of the six available packages.

The two packages auctioned consist of 23 games each, taking BSkyB to a total of 115 live matches per season from 2010 to 2013, while Setanta paid £159 million for the last package. Setanta secured two packages in the last Premier League deal for a total of £392 million.

The other bidder, left empty handed, was ESPN rumoured as a buyer of Setanta last year. ESPN said: "We can confirm that we did bid for Premier League rights and we are therefore disappointed in the outcome. But we were pleased to be at the table and we would like to congratulate Sky and Setanta."

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