Increased demand for rights drives prices higher

摘要

The price of football-rights contracts in Europe continues to rise as new television operators enter the bidding. This has brought sustained funding levels for major leagues, but some major operators are losing out to new entrants and facing the problem of how to replace premium football content — arguably the greatest driver of pay television. Bill Shankly, the legendary Liverpool manager, famously remarked that "some people believe football is a matter of life and death — I can assure you it is much, much more important than that". Some pay-television companies, faced with the loss of premium rights, might agree.