Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The City roundup video: Sky shares falls over Premier League rights auction

Video: Oscar Williams-Grut provides a run-down of the day's major news from the City

Oscar Williams-Grut
Monday 15 December 2014 14:23 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.

Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.

Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.

Head shot of Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

Editor

Don't miss out on the goings on in the business world, with our daily round-up of the biggest news from the City.

Sky shares fell almost 2 per cent today after City analysts sounded the alarm over the upcoming Premier League rights auction.

Football is the cornerstone of Sky’s business and analysts warned that the broadcaster needs to win the majority of games on offer or face missing its financial targets.

This is easier said than done as it faces competition from an increasingly pushing BT and possible bids from new entrants such as Google.

The Premier League said last week that it is also selling the rights to more games than ever, which will force Sky to shell out even more.

The auction is a sealed envelope affair, meaning bidders can’t see rival offers, and Sky will likely put in a big, knock-out bid as it tries to guarantee it gets what it needs.

The combined fear of Sky not winning enough games and overpaying for the matches it does get has led investors to conclude that the broadcaster is not the safest place to put money right now.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in