Has competition in the market for subscription sports broadcasting benefitted consumers? The case of the English Premier League

Thumbnail Image
Files
6065.pdf(435.77 KB)
Accepted version
Date
2018-07-01
Authors
Butler, Robert
Massey, Patrick
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sage Publications
Published Version
10.1177/1527002518784121
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
This paper investigates the peculiar nature of competition in the broadcasting market for live English Premier League matches in the United Kingdom. Following the movement from free-to-air to subscription television in 1992, British Sky Broadcasting secured a monopoly on live broadcasting rights. The exclusive arrangements were later found to be in breach of European competition law and resulted in competition from the start of the 2007-2008 season. However, competition has not reduced prices charged to consumers. Both the overall cost to consumers and the price per game are higher with competing broadcasters than under a monopoly.
Description
Keywords
Competition , Broadcasting , Premier league
Citation
Butler, R. and Massey, P. 'Has Competition in the Market for Subscription Sports Broadcasting Benefited Consumers? The Case of the English Premier League', Journal of Sports Economics, In Press, doi: 10.1177/1527002518784121
Link to publisher’s version
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1527002518784121
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10468/6410
Collections
Economics - Journal Articles
Copyright
© 2018 The Authors. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications. The published version of record is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002518784121