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Virgin Media fails to stop the Premier League's next TV rights auction

Virgin Media really doesn't like the way Premier League TV rights are auctioned in the UK. It's already filed a complaint with Ofcom, which argued that the skyrocketing bids from Sky and BT, coupled with the low number of televised fixtures, is having a knock-on effect for the consumer. In addition, it says it's restricting real competition in the TV market, which only exasperates the problem. Ofcom agreed to look into the matter, but was that good enough for Virgin Media? Not quite. You see, the Premier League is thought to be pushing ahead with its next TV rights auction, which means Ofcom probably won't make a decision until after it's all been tied up. The new bidding is for the 2016-19 seasons, so the concern was that any Ofcom ruling wouldn't take effect for four years. Virgin Media has therefore pushed the regulator to take "interim measures" that would put the auction on hold.

Ofcom's response? Sorry, but it's not happening. In a statement, the UK watchdog said it "does not consider that there is an urgent need to intervene." The defence being that should it find any serious infringements, it can still enforce changes before the 2016/17 football season kicks off. Likewise, the Premier League has agreed to amend its contracts so that any Ofcom decision can be accommodated. Virgin Media seems to be happy with that; today, it said it welcomed the news that Ofcom is prepared to take retrospective action if necessary. in short, this saga isn't over just yet, especially as we wait to see whether BT can land another blow in its heavyweight bout over TV rights with Sky.

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