Bill Gates Buys EPL

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Just reported in Aus, NTL owned by Bill Gates has bought the rights to English Premier League for 3 years at 1.25 billion sterling. wow

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2000

Answers

He doesn't actually own all of NTL....only something like 40% :))

Still....that's a lot less than they were talking about for this deal!! aren't there other sub-deals that are gonna generate more cash?

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2000


so whats it gonna be called .. the NTL premier league .. us as main sponsors , bah .

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2000

Does this mean we'll finally see more televised Toon matches?!! And an end to the weekly Newton Heath love-in? :-)))

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2000

Oh dear- surely it wud take a number of years for NTL to reach Skys high standard?

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2000

God I'd laugh if Sky's subscriptions plummeted now....I really would....

Mind you....Do NTL even have a television presence?

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2000



Maybe Bill's influence will contribute a little extra to the Premiership?

A Recycle Bin where dumped teams will resurrect themselves: mackums, Boro, Charlton.

Shut Down for clubs like Wimbledon

In-t'-net Explorer v6 - for Newcastle United, with bookmarked Favourite Places (i.e. the goal net, the pub etc) - Also features a "History" button to recall significants (5-0, 8-0, Fairs Cup)

Outlook Express v6- a simple guide for our Chimp fancying cousins, with one line: relegation

Windows 2001 - for the modern England fan going abroad - it's already broken for you.

Microsoft Word v8 - especially created for makems: comes complete with virtual crayon and tracing paper

My Briefcase - unmodified and unopened for easy use for Scumderland AFC Chairmen

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2000


From Sporting Life

Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates is close to gaining a stranglehold on Premiership football.

Mirror Sport can reveal the richest man in the world and famous computer nerd has outbid Rupert Murdoch in an astonishing battle to land the biggest domestic TV contract in world soccer.

American cable company NTL, who are backed by Gates, have tabled a colossal #1.25billion to take over rights to screen Premiership matches when the FA's current contract with BSkyB runs out at the end of 2001.

NTL want to show 66 live matches as well as offering 40 games to pay-per-view subscribers. The double header offer will shock BSkyB, owned by Murdoch's parent company News Corporation, as their five-year deal approaches its final year.

The Premiership sent out tender documents and the closed bids were scrutinised by only a select hierarchy within the Premiership organisation.

So secret are the contents, none of the Premiership chairmen have been consulted or made privy to the figures.

But The Mirror has established that the NTL bid tops Sky's offer. We have also learned that a top-level meeting took place last week between those selected to negotiate the next Premiership contract and the NTL bidders.

That meeting proved to the Premiership that NTL are "serious challengers" to Sky's TV domination.

NTL already has media stakes in North East clubs Newcastle and Middlesbrough - and Aston Villa lists Gates' company Microsoft among its major shareholders.

NTL are so confident about securing rights that their master plan is to poach top commentators, broadcasters and technicians from BBC, ITV and Sky to ensure they can trump Sky's current exhaustive coverage of Premiership football.

The key to NTL's bid is that they want two packages - the 66 live Premiership games a season, PLUS 40 pay-per-view matches.

Ironically, NTL made an official complaint last year that the authorities should block Sky extending their current monopoly of live Premiership coverage to include pay-per-view games as well.

NTL argue that they are entitled to the double header because they have not had exclusive rights like Sky in the past and that is the only way they are prepared to spend more than #1billion on a contract that will last just three years.

The current Sky contract is spread over five years so the NTL offer could double the annual rate of TV income for the Premiership clubs.

The current income tables of TV revenue show that Arsenal earn the most at #6.5million a year, followed closely by Manchester United and Chelsea.

Top clubs could raise it to nearly 20million a year as any matches not included in the 66-game package and the 40 pay-per-view would revert to the clubs for them to sell on an individual basis.

It will guarantee that clubs will use the extra windfall for player contracts and transfer fees.

Clubs will be able to pay the first #100,000-a-week salaries and challenge Italy's Serie A for the best.

Transfer fees in excess of #20million would become the norm.

The Premiership are anxious to agree a deal quickly because as soon as it is signed the TV organisation must pay a 7.5 per cent deposit.



-- Anonymous, June 01, 2000


Christ , itll not stop me gannin' to the match mind .. does that mean being the most loyal fans we have a fair chance of making money out of the pay per view and therefore securing some good names ?

-- Anonymous, June 01, 2000

The article was a bit jingoistic at the end....transfer fee's of 20mill to become the norm.....how? all that's happening is a "possible" increase in revenue of 14mill a year....a lot of clubs in the Premiership (ourselves included) need that cash just to balance the books...

-- Anonymous, June 01, 2000

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