wide web at www.sun.co.uk. You say teamwork. We say network.Media mogul Murdoch already holds the rights to broadcast live Premier League games exclusively through Sky, but this contract will expire in 2001. The sports broadcasting market, however, is a lucrative one, and it is reported that Murdoch has expressed a desire to enter the world of Premier League football through a more direct route.Perhaps another catalyst to Murdochs decision to buy into football is the realisation by the League and its clubs that there is a lot of money to be made in broadcasting live games to fans. The capabilities of digital television will allow each club to effectively run its own channel thus cutting out the middleman broadcaster which, in this and many cases, is Sky. BSkyB will doubtless be keen to secure broadcasting or takeover deals with Premier League clubs before this starts to happen.However, any such deal will be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), as are all takeovers. The OFT will examine whether or not the buyout will have competition implications - restricting the access to televise Man Utd. games, for instance. If the OFT finds that there are implications of this nature the deal would be referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC).BSkyB is already being taken to the High Court by the OFT over a broadcasting deal struck between the Premier League and Sky in 1993. The OFT claims that Sky made the deal, to broadcast games between 1993 and 1996, without first obtaining the OFTs consent (see Newsline).Man Utd.s launched digital TV channel, MUTV, is part-owned by BSkyB, Granada and the club itself; it is initially only available through Sky. It is expected that other clubs may join the bidding now that Sky has got the ball rolling. Other possible players include Granada, United News & Media and leisure group Enic. However, any such takeover is likely to meet with resistance. Already sports minister, Tony Banks, has ...
