(Rewrites, adds detail.)

 

By Simon Zekaria

 

LONDON--U.K. communications regulator Ofcom on Monday said it closed its investigation into the selling of Premier League soccer live audio and visual media rights without reaching a finding as to whether the setup restricts or distorts competition.

In a statement, Ofcom said it decided to end its nearly two-year probe after the Premier League--the U.K. sports body that runs the process for the elite sports competition in secret--increased the number of matches shown live from the start of the 2019 season. The inquiry was sparked by a complaint from Liberty Global PLC's (LBTYA) British cable operator, Virgin Media.

The Premier League has agreed that an extra 22 matches will be shown live on television, to a minimum of 190 per season, from 2019. This is up from 14 live matches during the current deal from 2016 to 2019.

The next auction includes a "no single buyer" rule, which means more than one broadcaster must be awarded rights, Ofcom said. At least 42 matches per season will be reserved for a second buyer, of which a minimum of 30 will be available for broadcast on weekends.

A spokeswoman for Ofcom said the regulator didn't obtain enough evidence to form a conclusive finding from its probe and that more research would be needed on consumer habits.

It opened an inquiry in November 2014 as to whether the sale process breaches either U.K. or European competition rules. Virgin Media argued that the proportion of matches made available for live television was lower than that offered by some other leading European leagues and that the arrangement meant higher prices for consumers.

The broadcasting of Premier League soccer is a competitive battleground for the U.K.'s expanding media industry, with pay-TV giant Sky PLC (SKY.LN) and BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) fighting for viewers. From 2016 to 2019, Sky won the rights to 126 matches in the three-year period, while rival BT, the U.K. telecommunications incumbent that is spending billions to take on Sky for subscribers with its own sports channels, won the rights to broadcast 42.

The value for the rights soared by 70% from the previous auction to nearly $8 billion.

Sky has held the lion's share of Premier League live rights since 1992.

Sky is 39% owned by 21st Century Fox, which until June 2013 was part of the same company as The Wall Street Journal parent News Corp.

 

Write to Simon Zekaria at simon.zekaria@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 08, 2016 06:53 ET (10:53 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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