14 June 2012 Last updated at 12:10 ET

BSkyB and BT shares fall on Premier League TV deal

Continue reading the main story

British Sky Broadcasting Group

Last Updated at 17 May 2013, 11:30 ET *Chart shows local time

price	change	%
793.50 p	- -1.50	- -0.19

Shares in BSkyB and BT have both fallen 3.5% on concerns over the amount they have paid to secure rights to show live Premier League matches.

At one stage, BSkyB was down as much as 7.3% after the two firms agreed to pay a combined £3bn for a three-year deal.

The new deal marks a 70% increase on the current rights package, held by BSkyB and ESPN.

The firms are paying about £6.53m per match, up from £4.3m that BSkyB and ESPN pay under the current deal.

ESPN did once again bid for broadcasting rights, but lost out in the tendering process.

Surprise

BSkyB is paying a total of £2.28bn for the rights to 116 games per season from 2013-14 to 2015-16, while BT is paying £736m for the rights to 38 games per season over the three-year period.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore expressed surprise at the level of the bids.

"It would be wrong of me to say it didn't take me by surprise, yes, because the nature of this is a confidential process, it's a sealed bid process and we only know what people are likely [to bid]," he said.

"People never declare to us ever what they're going to bid and we don't ever ask them. And therefore clearly there is an element of surprise in this."

The surge in price has led to concerns that fans will face increased subscription costs.

The rising cost of Premier League TV rights
Years	Value of deal	Cost per match	Broadcaster
1992-1997	£191m (60 matches per season)	£637,000	BSkyB
1997-2001	£670m (60 matches)	£2.79m	BSkyB
2001-2004	£1.2bn (110 matches)	£3.64m	BSkyB
2004-2007	£1.024bn (138 matches)	£2.47m	BSkyB
2007-2010	£1.706bn (138 matches)	£4.12m	BSkyB and Setanta
2010-2013	£1.782bn (138 matches)	£4.30m	BSkyB and Setanta/ESPN
2013-2016	£3.018bn (154 matches)	£6.53m	BSkyB and BT