Premier League TV rights: BT shares rise following deal, while Sky's fall

Investors worried that Sky had overpaid for its packages of 126 games over the next three seasons

The battle between Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch and BT’s Gavin Patterson resulted in both sides ending with just slightly more live football at a greater cost

(Getty Images)

There could only be one winner in the £5.14 billion auction of live Premier League TV rights and, according to the City, it was BT.

Investors worried that Sky had overpaid for its packages of 126 games over the next three seasons after it said it had forked out £1 billion more than analysts had forecast.

Sky shares fell by 40p, or 4.2 per cent, to 913.75p while BT shares rose 12.4p, or 2.8 per cent, to 456.2p, a 14-year high.

Sky is paying £4.2 billion for five of seven packages including the new Friday night slot, while BT will pay £960 million for two packages of 42 games including the Saturday night evening kick-off.

The battle between Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch and BT’s Gavin Patterson resulted in both sides ending with just slightly more live football at a greater cost.

But the 80 per cent increase in the amount that Sky bid against the 18 per cent increase for BT caused investors concerns today.

Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Sky has paid dearly and is going to have to squeeze costs and customers to keep its finances on track.

"BT has ended up with a good hand, - Premiership, Champions League, FA Cup and European leagues - all for a fraction of the annual cost that Sky is paying for its Premiership position."

Liberum analyst Ian Whittaker slashed his target share price for Sky from 850p to just 530p, pointing out that while he had said Sky needed to win "at any cost", it had ended up with a "pyrrhic victory".

While Sky said it hoped to keep subscription increases as low as it could and to make bigger savings through "cost efficiencies", analysts questioned this.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank suggested Sky could push up subscriptions by £1 a month but have doubts about its planned £200-million-a-year savings, saying they would "test market credulity".

There is also concern that Sky is now locked into a cycle of football rights bidding after its takeover of its sister companies in Germany and Italy.

Bundesliga rights come up for auction in 2016, Serie A in Italy in 2017 and then Premier League again in 2018.

BT paid £7.6 million per game while Sky paid £11 million. Between them they are paying an average £113,000 a minute for live Premier League coverage.