League set to cut big four's TV cash

Kingp35

The Observer wrote:

Denis Campbell and Julian Bennetts
Sunday April 22, 2007
The Observer

Premier League clubs have agreed to change the way money from their lucrative television deal is distributed in a bid to stop the growing financial divide between richer and poorer sides becoming even wider.

The clubs have agreed to modify the way the 25 per cent of their broadcasting income allocated to clubs shown on live TV is shared out. They have acted in response to fears that the big clubs, certain to be involved in even more live transmissions from next season, would make unhealthily large sums compared to their less well-off rivals.

Agreement in principle was reached at Thursday's quarterly meeting of the 20 clubs about bringing in what a source described as 'a mechanism to ensure greater financial certainty' by limiting what those teams shown most often in live broadcasts can earn from facility fees from Sky and newcomers Setanta. The detail will be agreed at the league's summer meeting in June.

Analysts expect that, with two broadcasters involved in showing live Premiership games for the first time, there will be 'aggressive picking' of the games they want to show, with the result that the league's big draws are shown even more often than at present.

However, debate on more radical plans to divide TV money much more equitably did not occur. Charlton and a number of other smaller clubs want to increase the amount of money distributed equally between all clubs from 50 per cent to 70 per cent.

The draw for the 2007 Fifa Women's World Cup will take place in Wuhan, China, today. Hope Powell's England, currently ranked twelfth in the world, will be hoping for a kind draw for September's tournament, but are guaranteed to face one of the United States, Germany, Norway and China, who head the four pools. The festivities began yesterday with a gala match between China's women and a Fifa Women's World Star team, of whom Powell was joint head coach. China ran out 3-2 winners thanks to a late goal from Ji Ting.

If England reach the semi-finals they will earn a place at the Beijing Olympics for a Great Britain team, but Scotland captain Julie Fleeting has announced that she would refuse to play for such a side for fear of upsetting her father. Fleeting, who plays her club football for Arsenal, is the daughter of Jim Fleeting, the Scottish Football Association's director of football.

She said: 'Of course the Olympics is a huge thing, but for me, first and foremost, I'm Scottish. I've been told that if there's a Great Britain team then the national team will be scrapped, which is something I don't want. I've actually been told that I could be disowned if I ever play in the Olympics, so there's a risk of losing family there.'

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2062838,00.html

Goog Move IMO

PHB

This is really the compromise deal.
The middle clubs wanted this because, while they wanted the increase from 50 to 70, they are also smart enough to realise if they push the big clubs too far, collective deals could go out the window. They actually realise how good they have it compared to Spain or Italy.