Sky, BT stand to lose 1 billion in sport shut-down

Negotiating pay cuts with players is as difficult as herding cats

By Dan Meier

Published: March 27, 2020

Negotiating pay cuts with players is as difficult as herding cats

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Sky and BT are expected to lose almost £1 billion in revenue if sport remains shut down until August, according to Enders Analysis.

Assuming a worst-case scenario of a four-month suspension of all sports coverage (British and foreign), with all sports subscribers pausing their contract and wholesale clients being allowed to follow suit, Sky would lose £700 million and BT £228 million in revenues, said the report.

Sky has enabled pay-TV subscribers to pause their payments and ceased charging commercial clients such as pubs that carry Sky Sports. BT customers can choose to drop sports from their package.

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In July, both companies are due to pay the Premier League the six-month licence fee for the first half of the 2020-21 season, totalling around £530 million. BT's annual bill to UEFA for the Champions League rights is £394 million.

The report also suggested football players take a pay cut, since their wages account for 59 per cent of revenues across the Premier League.

Football's cost structure is pretty simple: most of the receipts flow into players' pockets, said Enders. The best solution is collectively negotiated pay cuts, but negotiating pay cuts with players is as difficult as herding cats.

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