FLPTV/NTL and Football League Agree Deal

By: Graham Howes
Date: 01/10/2002

IT has been announced that there has been agreement over restructuring of the Internet joint adventure with NTL. The deal agreed is to benefit all parties and help NTL to restructure its costs.

Existing customers under the new deal will get more exclusive online content. At present Premium content subscriptions is expected to top 16,000 in four weeks.

key terms of the restructured agreement are:

Clubs and The Football League will receive 80% of all revenues generated by the business until they have received £35 million; an amount they would have received in rights fees under the terms of the old deal.

Clubs and The Football League will receive over £5 million immediately.

The deal term is for the next 15 years with PTV continuing to fund the running of the FLPTV web sites until the clubs have received the £35 million.

PTV will write off all previous loans (approximately £30 million)

Clubs will share an annual advance of up to £1.5 million to assist them in the production of their "World" premium content subscription zones.

Once clubs and the Football League have received £35 million, revenue sharing will be on a 50/50 basis (after PTV recovers its running costs)

The Football League has enhanced the rights available to FLPTV, significantly improving the exclusive content available to fans and increasing FLPTV's earning potential.

These include: Match video highlights will now be available to fans 24 hours after the game (reduced from 48 hours).

Non-live mobile video rights will be exploited exclusively through FLPTV joint venture

The restructured JV is also to benefit from the exploitation of the synergies between PTV and other NTL companies. PTV is the UK's leading provider of online sports content (with over 3.38 million monthly users), while NTL is a leading provider of broadband Internet access.

NTL will offer bundled subscriptions of broadband access and club "World" exclusive content, to both new and existing customers. NTL will pay FLPTV success fees for this content.

Jonathan Sykes, CEO of Premium TV and Director of FLPTV said: "Despite tough market conditions the FLPTV joint venture has succeeded in bringing an unparalleled Internet product to fans, thanks to strong working partnerships, the unique and exclusive nature of official football club content, and market-leading technology.

"The new deal enables clubs to continue to offer their fans the best of Internet content and services on a long-term and financially sound basis."

"FLPTV is far and away the biggest player in UK online football and is Europe's largest streamer of audio and video football content. With the huge success of online premium content subscriptions and future product developments; FLPTV offers clubs the ideal platform to exploit their exclusive audio visual rights.

Richard Masters, Commercial Director of The Football League and Director of FLPTV, said: "The League is delighted to conclude the restructuring of this agreement. It clearly demonstrates that Premium TV, and its parent company NTL, are committed in the long-term, to a business with enormous potential.

"This new agreement offers a great opportunity for clubs to work with Premium TV to earn themselves significant levels of revenue by providing the groundbreaking Internet content that their supporters deserve.

"The Football League remains at the forefront of this developing market and this deal proves that our clubs remain a valuable asset in a turbulent media market."

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