Football licensing: a whole new ball game

19-12-2013

Football licensing: a whole new ball game

Licensing football on television was once a simple task. However, as competition between channels grows, so does the battle for obtaining rights. TB&I looks at the rights industry in Europe.

In 1992, English football changed beyond recognition. The UK’s most successful clubs formed a breakaway league, the English Premier League (EPL), and signed a deal with satellite broadcaster BSkyB to televise more live matches than ever before. 

Fast forward to the present day and winning the rights to show sport on television is arguably the biggest selling point in a broadcaster’s portfolio. In turn, the right to broadcast live sport is becoming one of the most hotly contested battles in the media.

According to Markus Körner, partner at Bird & Bird LLP in Munich, the primary goal of television rights owners now is to add live sports coverage to their portfolio and get hold of a “small slice from a big cake”.


uefa, english premier league, broadcasting, copyright licensing

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