Sky and BT face £1bn loss if sport stays off-air

SKY and BT could lose nearly £1bn in revenues if top-flight sports remain off-air until August, a report warns.

The Premier League has suspended English football until the end of next month because of the coronavirus outbreak, while rugby has also been called off until April 14 at the earliest.

During this period, Sky has stopped charging pubs for showing Sky Sports and customers are being allowed to ‘pause’ their sports TV subscriptions.

At the same time, BT is allowing customers to ‘discuss options’ for their contracts or simply pause their sports subscription if they are on a ‘flexible’ package.

But experts at research firm Enders Analysis said it looks likely the sporting suspensions will last beyond April, with a Governmentimposed lockdown expected to carry on for months.

An Enders spokesman said: ‘The hypothesis informing governments assumes an initial threemonth long lockdown.

‘Group activities of 25 people involving close physical contact without protection will not plausibly be the first to be allowed when some social life resumes.

‘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 £700m and BT £228m in revenues.’

Between them, Sky and BT paid nearly £4.4bn for Premier League broadcasting rights in an auction two years ago.

Enders also suggested that football players may need to take pay cuts if clubs begin to struggle financially but added: ‘Negotiating pay cuts with players is as difficult as herding cats.’