The runaway football television juggernaut had to slam on the brakes on Tuesday, slowing down to the extent that the Premier League suffered a significant drop in TV rights income.
The £4.46billion paid by Sky and BT for three seasons starting in 2019-20 compares to £5.1bn from the existing deal, although the two minor packages of midweek games remain unsold. The fall of more than £500m over three years is in contrast to the 70 per cent rise in the last tender.
The major winners are Sky Sports, who have secured more games for almost £600m less — a drop of 16 per cent — plus total dominance over rivals BT Sport.