News Group and Sky reach deal on Premier League mobile phone clips

Sky officially secured mobile rights to English Premier League football, allowing the company to show match highlights on mobile phones, and will cut in News Group on the deal.

Sky, which recently secured four of six Premier League TV packages, beat a collaborative bid from the United Kingdom's five mobile phone networks, including 3 and Vodafone.

The rights for highlights of Premier League matches currently are held by 3 and Vodafone as part of an exclusive three-year deal, which also allows Sky to broadcast highlights online.

Under the new deal, News Group will be able to provide clips from several live matches while the games are in progress.

The football footage will be available to mobile phone users from the beginning of the 2007-2008 season.

"This is a great step forward for The Sun and News of the World," said Mike Anderson, managing director of News Group. "It shows how these two newspapers are expanding onto different platforms to reach new and existing consumers with attractive content."

News Group is part of Rupert Murdoch's News International, publisher of The Sun and News of the World, which will jointly market and promote the new services.

"Sky has now secured TV, online and mobile rights to the Premiership and can promise the widest range of services and the most flexible ways of viewing across multiple platforms," said Stephen Nuttall, director of business development at BSkyB.

The service includes the possibility for users to see clips of goals and key moments while certain matches are in progress.

Murdoch owns 38 percent of BSkyB, which is headed by his son James Murdoch as chief executive.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.