Ofcom investigation into TV rights

Ofcom has contacted CPST, requesting fans' opinions on the selling of TV rights for matches that were played outside of the 'closed period' (i.e. not at 3pm on Saturday), yet were not selected for live broadcast.



Full transcript below;

Quote:

Dear Crystal Palace fan On 18 November 2014, Ofcom opened an investigation under the Competition Act 1998 into the joint selling arrangements by PL for live audio-visual media rights for Premier League matches. Ofcom intends to engage with the Football Supporters Federation and various individual Supporters Clubs throughout the course of this investigation. We would be grateful for your views on the issues raised in this letter. We expect to follow up with you shortly with further invitations to comment on broader issues raised in this investigation. One of the issues we will be examining is the number of Premier League matches for which live rights are sold. In the last auction held by PL for the seasons 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15, live rights were sold to 154 matches per season, out of a total of 380. As you are probably aware, the Football Association prohibits the broadcasting of football matches on Saturday afternoons during the hours of 14.45 and 17.15 (known as the closed period). PL complies with this rule and does not sell rights for the live broadcast of Premier League matches played during the closed period. However, our analysis of the scheduling of Premier League fixtures during the 2013/14 season and the current season (to the extent that the scheduling has been determined) has revealed that there were a total of 106 matches that were played outside of the closed period but which were not broadcast live. You will note that the list includes 12 matches in which Crystal Palace football club played: 29/9/13 - Swansea (h), KO 1330 26/12/13 - Villa (a), KO 1500 1/1/14 - Norwich (h), KO 1500 28/1/14 - Hull (h), KO 2000 2/3/14 - Swasea (a), KO 1630 16/4/14 - Everton (a), 1945 11/5/14 - Fulham (a), KO 1500 21/9/14 - Everton (a), KO 1600 2/12/14 - Villa (h), KO 2000 26/12/14 - Southampton (h), KO 1500 28/12/14 - QPR (a), KO 1500 1/1/15 - Villa (a), KO 1500 Bearing in mind that these matches were moved out of the closed period for reasons other than television, we would welcome your comments on how your members would have responded if the option of watching a live transmission of these matches had been available. In particular, we would welcome your comments on the following in relation to each of these matches: 1. If a live transmission of the match had been available, to what extent do you consider that this is an option that your members would have chosen on match day? 2. Are there any factors that you consider would have influenced their decision to attend the match, watch a live transmission or do neither of these? 3. Do you have any views on how fans of Crystal Palace football club generally would have responded to the option of watching a live transmission? If you have any comments on how your members would have responded if the option of watching a live transmission of matches had been available, please include these in your response.

Any comments on the above?



Clearly this is a broad subject area with a varieity of responses, but we'll aim to collate them in any response - or maybe just send the BBS link! Not the most scientific approach but a decent stater for 10.