February 7th, 2009 by BGonaSTICK

Those filthy rich folks at Sky continue to buy up just about whatever they want with the acquisition of the TV rights to five of the six match packages auctioned off by the Premier League.

Live transmission rights to the 138 eligible games (Saturday 3p.m. kickoffs are excluded from the sale to help prop up gate receipts) are divided into six sub-packages, and the European paper-pushers have decreed that no one broadcaster should be allowed to buy the lot.

So to make it fair, Setanta get to show one or two of the games that nobody wants to watch anyway.

The deal will run from next season (2010/11) until 2012/13, when BSkyB will buy them again.

At least the Premier League didn’t have to suffer the indignity of having to sign over the rights to the Walt Disney Company’s sports broadcaster ESPN.

Apparently, they considered a bid, but thought better of it at the last minute. And no, I’m not going to make any comment about their derisory offer being ‘Mickey Mouse’.