Sky & BT Sport Could Face Competition for Premier League TV Rights From Huge American Companies

Silicon Valley could be ready to bid on a slice of the Premier League broadcasting right pie that's currently being shared by Sky and BT Sport.

According to The Times, England's top flight could take the step up to the digital era, with the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Amazon looking to muscle in.

Sky and BT are currently on a £1.7bn contract with the league, and charge users unreasonable amounts for their services. But there could be some respite on the way, with the US-based companies now thought to be monitoring the market as they are aware of the benefits that sports broadcasting could bring.

Twitter are already in the game on that front, displaying various sporting events on their platform, while Amazon have started a streaming service to rival Netflix. Facebook, meanwhile, have been using video for quite some time.

At £1.7bn, Premier League rights represent much better business for these companies. NBA broadcast rights are currently set at £2.04bn, with the NFL's commanding a whopping £3.8bn.

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However, forecasters suggest that the price is poised to rise in the 2019/20 auction.

Virgin Media have made a complaint over the poor volume of top flight fixtures being aired on TV, and Ofcom are currently investigating.

The Premier League were recently given the green light to take illegal streamers to task as they try to stamp out the unauthorised broadcasting of live matches.

Yet league executive chairman Richard Scudamore isn't overly concerned with a loss in profits stemming from illegal streaming, as he reckons people are more willing to pay for good service nowadays.

“Nobody’s sitting here thinking that we’re going to eradicate every single abuse, any more than suddenly everybody’s going to stop speeding on a motorway," he said.

“But the truth is we are governing the situation and managing the situation down to acceptable levels.

“Young people are more than prepared to pay for things.

“My own children are more than happy going online and buying things. It’s about creating content and genres and ways and means of reaching them.”