English Premier League highlights free to view online from September

(AFP PHOTO/Adrian Dennis)

Yahoo! UK & Ireland has snagged the rights to a new online highlights package put together by the English Premier League until the end of the 2012/13 season.

Each match will be compressed into a five-minute highlights reel and made available to internet users in the UK from midnight on Sundays following each weekend's action, and from midnight on the same day as midweek games.

The three-year deal was first held by Sky Sports, and then was taken up by Virgin Media upon its expiry. In contrast, Yahoo! is to allow free access to the clips, supported by advertising.

The company has a similar portfolio of deals in the US, where it can show highlights from basketball, ice hockey, baseball, and golf owing to agreements with the NBA, NHL, MLB and PGA respectively.

Earlier this year, YouTube turned heads when they entered the sports arena by securing the right to stream live matches from the six-week long Indian Premier League, while it was Yahoo! itself that convinced the International Cricket Council to allow the web provider to take charge of the sporting body's official online presence.