100-583: The Sky Digital brand is used in more than one country: Sky UK - Digital television service for the United Kingdom operated by BSkyB and for the Republic of Ireland operated by Sky Ireland. Sky Television (New Zealand) in New Zealand. Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
200-645: A PIF-backed consortium through the league's Owners' and Directors' test , many MPs, Newcastle United fans and related parties to the deal denounced the Premier League for its perceived lack of transparency and accountability throughout the process. On 6 July 2021, consortium member Amanda Staveley of PCP Capital Partners said that "fans surely deserve absolute transparency from the regulators across all their processes – to best ensure that they act responsibly. They (the Premier League) are performing
300-547: A Sky+ PVR with their service; waiving the charge for subscribers whose package included two or more premium channels. This changed as of 1 July 2007, and now customers that subscribe to any Sky package have Sky+ included at no extra charge. Customers that do not subscribe to Sky's channels can still pay a monthly fee to enable Sky+ functions. In September 2007, Sky launched a new TV advertising campaign targeting Sky+ at women. As of 31 March 2008, Sky had 3,393,000 Sky+ users. Premier League The English Premier League ( EPL )
400-498: A central control room, which is equipped with multiple camera angles and the ability to replay footage at various speeds. A study evaluating fan reception of VAR in the Premier League was made by Otto Kolbinger and Melanie Knopp and was done by analysing Twitter data. The researchers used sentiment analysis to measure the overall positive or negative attitudes towards VAR, as well as topic modelling to identify specific issues that fans are discussing related to VAR. The study found that
500-952: A day after Setanta Sports confirmed that it would launch in March as a subscription service on the digital terrestrial platform, and on the same day that NTL's services re-branded as Virgin Media . However, industry sources believe Sky will be forced to shelve plans to withdraw its channels from Freeview and replace them with subscription channels, due to possible lost advertising revenue. Sky initially faced increased competition from telecommunications providers to deliver pay television services over existing telephone lines using ADSL . Such providers are able to offer " triple play " or " quadruple play " packages combining landline telephone, broadband Internet, mobile telephone and pay television services. To compete with these providers, in October 2005, Sky bought
600-627: A deal with Sky to bring some of its shows to the PlayStation Store Video Store. Users are able buy individual TV episodes in SD or HD. On 3 December 2014, Sky Go became available on the PlayStation 4 under the name "TV from Sky", followed by the PlayStation 3 on 29 January 2015. Sky Store has a library of films from Sky Cinema that can be rented or bought, either via an app or physical DVD/Blu-ray copies by post. Sky Store
700-562: A function like that of a government regulator – but without the same systems for accountability." On 22 July 2021, Tracey Crouch MP – chair of the fan-led review into the UK's football governance – announced in the review's interim findings that the Premier League had "lost the trust and confidence" of fans. The review also recommended that a new independent regulator be created to oversee matters such as club takeovers. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters had earlier spoken out against
800-495: A further £343 million in solidarity payments to EFL clubs. The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes, with a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people. For the 2023–24 season , the average Premier League match attendance was 38,375, second to the German Bundesliga 's 39,512, whilst aggregated attendance across all matches
900-656: A mixture of content from other Sky Channels, and Sky Max , showing Sky's original programming and entertainment previously shown on Sky One. On 7 October 2021, Sky announced a new all-in-one TV set called Sky Glass. It is designed to support streaming of Sky TV and streaming service shows over WiFi, eliminating the need for a satellite dish or box. It launched on 18 October 2021, with three sizes available: 43-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch. In October 2022, Comcast announced that it had written off US$ 8.6 billion of its valuation of Sky, with its third-quarter sales dropping 14.7 percent to $ 4.3 bn In October 2005, Sky agreed to purchase
1000-429: A narrow base of six clubs. In the five seasons following the 2011–12 campaign, Manchester United and Liverpool both found themselves outside of the top four three times, whilst Chelsea finished 10th in the 2015–16 season. Arsenal finished 5th in 2016–17 , ending their record run of 20 consecutive top-four finishes. In the 2015–16 season , underdogs Leicester City won the Premier League. With 5000/1 odds of winning
1100-564: A part of the ONdigital consortium, thereby making them a competitor by default, Sky was able to join ITV Digital's free-to-air replacement, Freeview , in which it holds an equal stake with the BBC , ITV , Channel 4 and Arqiva . Prior to October 2005, three Sky channels were available on this platform: Sky News , Sky Three , and Sky Sports News . Initially, Sky provided Sky Travel to
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#17327719866421200-407: A record six English clubs having won fifteen European championships in total. Fifty-one clubs have competed in the Premier League since its inception in 1992: 49 from England and two from Wales . Seven of them have won the title: Manchester United (13), Manchester City (8), Chelsea (5), Arsenal (3), Blackburn Rovers (1), Leicester City (1), and Liverpool (1). Manchester City hold
1300-506: A series of play-offs involving the third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed clubs. The number of clubs was reduced from 22 to 20 in 1995 , when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. The top flight had only been expanded to 22 teams at the start of the 1991–92 season – the year prior to the formation of the Premier League. On 8 June 2006, FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga , be reduced to 18 teams by
1400-472: A single division and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained the same as the old First and Second Divisions , with three teams relegated from the league and three promoted. The league held its first season in 1992–93 . It
1500-456: A special shareholder during the election of the chairman and chief executive and when new rules are adopted by the league. The current chief executive is Richard Masters , who was appointed in December 2019. The chair is currently Alison Brittain , who took over the role in early 2023. The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Association , the number of clubs and
1600-472: A subscription to watch the channels. After the two companies merged, subscribers could get access to both channels, and two years later, the sports channel Sky Sports also became encrypted. In the autumn of 1991, talks were held for the broadcast rights for Premier League for five years, from the 1992 season. ITV were the current rights holders and fought hard to retain the new rights. ITV had increased its offer from £18m to £34m per year to keep control of
1700-552: A two-year agreement in 1986, but by 1988, in a deal agreed with ITV , the price rose to £44 million over four years, with the leading clubs taking 75% of the cash. According to Scholar, who was involved in the negotiations of television deals, each of the First Division clubs received only around £25,000 per year from television rights before 1986, this increased to around £50,000 in the 1986 negotiation, then to £600,000 in 1988. The 1988 negotiations were conducted under
1800-630: A wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast -owned Sky Group, with its current company directors (including that of Sky Ireland ) being Executive Vice-president Stephen van Rooyen Its corporate headquarters are at the Sky Studios in Isleworth . The present service can trace its heritage back to 1990, when BSkyB's predecessors Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting encrypted their respective film channels – Sky Movies and The Movie Channel which required viewers to get decoding equipment and
1900-404: A win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference , and then goals scored. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, the head-to-head record between the tied teams is taken into consideration (points scored in
2000-403: A £5 billion television rights deal, with Sky and BT Group securing the domestic rights to broadcast 128 and 32 games, respectively. This deal will rise to £6.7 billion for the four seasons from 2025 to 2029. The league is projected to earn $ 7.2 billion in overseas TV rights from 2022 to 2025. Clubs were apportioned central payment revenues of £2.4 billion in 2016–17 , with
2100-439: Is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, internet, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of Sky Group and, from 2018 onwards, part of Comcast . It is the UK's largest pay-TV broadcaster, with 12.7 million customers as of the end of 2019 for its digital satellite TV platform. Sky's flagship products are Sky Q and
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#17327719866422200-661: Is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system . Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League (EFL). Seasons usually run from August to May, with each team playing 38 matches: two against each other team, one home and one away. Most games are played on weekend afternoons, with occasional weekday evening fixtures. The competition
2300-403: Is available on Sky Q boxes as well as through apps on devices such as computers and mobile devices. It is available to anyone with a compatible device and does not require a Sky TV subscription. An over-the-top contract-free television service from Sky. The service is provided on a NOW device or through an app on selected computers, mobile devices, set-top boxes and smart TVs. NOW is separate from
2400-476: Is believed to be the first time in Premier League history that a game was paused to allow Muslim players to eat and drink after the sun had set in accordance with the rules of the faith. The 2022–23 season was the first to take a six-week break between November and December 2022 to allow for the first winter World Cup , with a return for the Boxing Day fixtures. The Premier League players decided to take
2500-526: Is free for new or existing Sky TV customers using the Sky Mobile network. Since it was launched Sky has reduced the cost of its tariffs with, as of March 2021, 2GB now starting for £6.00 per month, 8GB for £10.00 per month, 10GB for £12.00 per month, 25GB for £15.00 per month, 30GB for £20 per month and 60GB for £30 has and they have also expanded the Sky VIP offering to mobile plans. They have also expanded
2600-399: Is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world." Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said in defence: "There are a lot of different tussles that go on in the Premier League depending on whether you're at the top, in the middle, or at the bottom that make it interesting." Between 2005 and 2012, there was a Premier League representative in seven of
2700-401: Is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is a shareholder , with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs select a chairman, chief executive, and board of directors to oversee the daily operations of the league. The Football Association is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, but has veto power as
2800-477: Is responsible for electing three members to UEFA's Club Competitions Committee, which is involved in the operations of UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and UEFA Europa League . The Premier League has faced criticism of its governance due to an alleged lack of transparency and accountability . Following the Premier League's blocking of the attempted takeover of Newcastle United by
2900-470: The 1994–95 FA Premier League and Newcastle led the title charge over United for much of the 1995–96 season . As the decade closed, Arsenal replicated Manchester United's dominance by winning the League and FA Cup double in 1997–98 , and together they would form a duopoly over the league between 1997 and 2003. The 2000s saw the rise of Liverpool alongside the "Big 2", followed by Chelsea finally breaking
3000-410: The 2011–12 season , becoming the first club outside the "Big Four" to win since Blackburn Rovers in the 1994–95 season . That season also saw two of the "Big Four" (Chelsea and Liverpool) finish outside the top four places for the first time since that season. With only four UEFA Champions League qualifying places available in the league, greater competition for qualification now exists, albeit from
3100-503: The BBC awarded the highlights package broadcast on Match of the Day . Luton Town , Notts County , and West Ham United were the three teams relegated from the old First Division at the end of the 1991–92 season, and did not take part in the inaugural Premier League season. They were replaced by Ipswich Town , Middlesbrough , and Blackburn Rovers, promoted from the old Second Division. The 22 First Division clubs resigned en masse from
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3200-469: The ONdigital digital terrestrial television service (later renamed ITV Digital ). ITV Digital failed for numerous reasons, including, but not limited to numerous administrative and technical failures, nervous investors after a large downturn in the advertising market and the dot com crash , and Sky's aggressive marketing and domination of premium sporting rights. While Sky had been excluded from being
3300-573: The Sky Digibox , using the Slogans "What do you want to watch?", "Entertainment your way" and the current slogan "Believe in Better" . This was followed by Sky+, a digital video recorder with an internal hard drive which allows viewers to 'pause live television' (by switching from a live feed to a paused real-time recording that can be restarted at any point) and schedule programs to record in
3400-542: The United Kingdom . On 1 March 2013, it was announced that Sky would buy O2 's and Be 's broadband services from Telefónica for £180 million upfront plus another £20 million once customers have been transferred. Telefónica said the deal would allow it to concentrate on providing better mobile services, including rolling out 4G. Sky offers broadband using the Openreach network. Customer premises connect to
3500-407: The " Big Six ". In the 2009–10 season , Tottenham finished fourth and became the first new team to finish in the top four since Everton five years prior. Criticism of the gap between an elite group of "super clubs" and the majority of the Premier League has continued, nevertheless, due to their increasing ability to spend more than the other Premier League clubs. Manchester City won the title in
3600-517: The "piggybank" facility to allow customers to "cash-in" piggybank data to bring the monthly cost of a phone down. Sky Mobile launched in Ireland in September 2024, and also announced their plans to expand to Italy. As of 30 March 2017, Sky Mobile is offering handset deals. Products are available from manufacturers such as Samsung , Sony and Apple . Sky launched with a set-top box known as
3700-559: The 1990–1991 season, a proposal was tabled for the establishment of a new league that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991, by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League. The newly formed top division was to have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving
3800-680: The Arsenal-Man United duopoly by winning the league in 2004–05 . The dominance of the so-called "Big Four" clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United – saw them finish at the top of the table for most of the decade, thereby guaranteeing qualification for the UEFA Champions League . Only three other clubs managed to qualify for the competition during this period: Newcastle United ( 2001–02 and 2002–03 ), Everton ( 2004–05 ), and Tottenham Hotspur ( 2009–10 ) – each occupying
3900-554: The Champions League, in the 2000–01 season . There were three Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006–07 , 2007–08 , and 2008–09 , a feat only ever achieved five times (along with Serie A in 2002–03 and La Liga in 1999–2000 ). Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached the UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win
4000-439: The FA Premier League licence to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe. Although Dyke played a significant role in the creation of the Premier League, he and ITV (of which LWT was part) lost out in the bidding for broadcast rights: BSkyB won with a bid of £304 million over five years, with
4100-626: The FA were receptive to the idea. The FA did not have an amicable relationship with the Football League at the time and considered it a way to weaken the Football League 's position. The FA released a report in June 1991, Blueprint for the Future of Football , that supported the plan for the Premier League, with the FA as the ultimate authority that would oversee the breakaway league. At the close of
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4200-474: The Football League in 1992, and on 27 May that year, the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company , working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster Gate . The 22 inaugural members of the new Premier League were: This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with
4300-571: The High Court to get an injunction as it believed their bid details had been leaked before the decision was taken. ITV also asked the Office of Fair Trading to investigate since it believed Rupert Murdoch's media empire via its newspapers had influenced the deal. A few days later neither action took effect, ITV believed BSkyB was telephoned and informed of its £262m bid, and Premier League advised BSkyB to increase its counter bid. BSkyB retained
4400-628: The ISP EasyNet for £211 million. At the time, EasyNet were one of the few ISPs that had made major investments in local-loop unbundling (LLU), giving Sky access to 232 unbundled telephone exchanges . The acquired EasyNet was placed under a new Sky Broadband division. In October 2007, Sky reached 1 million broadband customers and claimed to be gained one new customer every 40 seconds. By September 2009, Sky Broadband had 2.3 million customers. By July 2012 Sky Broadband had reached four million customers and had unbundled exchanges covering over 70% of
4500-694: The Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports was awarded two of the six Premier League packages that the English FA offered to broadcasters. Sky picked up the remaining four for £1.3bn. In February 2015, Sky bid £4.2bn for a package of 120 premier league games across the three seasons from 2016. This represented an increase of 70% on the previous contract and was said to be £1bn more than the company had expected to pay. The move has been followed by staff cuts, increased subscription prices (including 9% in Sky's family package) and
4600-426: The Premier League. In [The Premier League] you never really know what is going to happen, there is very little between the teams. – Luis Suarez There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system ), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for 38 games. Teams receive three points for
4700-549: The Select Committee on National Heritage, mainly for the lack of original programming on many of the new channels. BSkyB's digital service was officially launched on 1 October 1998 under the name Sky Digital, although small-scale tests were carried out before then. At this time the use of the Sky Digital brand made an important distinction between the new service and Sky's analogue services. Key selling points were
4800-573: The Sky Multichannels package, many of which broadcast additional hours on Sky Digital, Sky Digital launched several new channels that were exclusive to the digital offer. The switchover from analogue to digital proceeded relatively quickly. In 1998, there were 6 million 'multichannel' TV homes in the UK (i.e. homes that watch television other than the traditional analogue terrestrial), and over half of these homes watched television using BSkyB's analogue service. BSkyB's digital service surpassed
4900-618: The Smarter Network, with tariffs mainly focused on data rather than traditional calls & text, effectively saving consumers money in wasted unused minutes and texts. 1GB data costs £10.00 per month while 5GB costs £15.00 per month with 10GB data costing £20.00 per month. With all those data tariffs, the customer can choose from two different call & text packages with the 'Pay as you use' costing 10p per minute of calls and 10p per text message sent or £10.00 per month for Unlimited Calls & Texts. The Unlimited Calls & Texts package
5000-594: The UK's parliament heard a claim that a subscription to Sky was 'often damaging' to welfare recipients, along with alcohol, tobacco and gambling. Conservative MP Alec Shelbrooke was proposing the payments of benefits and tax credits on a "Welfare Cash Card", in the style of the American Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , that could be used to buy only "essentials". In 2016, Sky launched its new TV and entertainment service called Sky Q . On 1 March 2018, it
5100-656: The aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster ; between the fans of Liverpool and the fans of Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, Yorkshire on 15 April 1989, was published in January 1990. During the 1980s, major English clubs began to transform into business ventures, applying commercial principles to club administration to maximise revenue. Martin Edwards of Manchester United , Irving Scholar of Tottenham Hotspur , and David Dein of Arsenal were among
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#17327719866425200-401: The all-time points table, were over 300 points ahead of the next team, Tottenham Hotspur. They are also the only teams to maintain a winning average of over 50% throughout their entire Premier League tenures. The years following 2009 marked a shift from the "Big Four" with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City breaking into the top four places on a regular basis, turning the "Big Four" into
5300-426: The analogue service in terms of subscribers in late 1999. By June 2000 the service had 3.6 million subscribers, which gave BSkyB 8.988 million subscribers across all platforms. This substantial growth reflected BSkyB's 34% share of viewers in multi-channel homes (up from 13.4% in 1999). BSkyB's analogue service ended in October 2001, and the digital service would eventually be marketed as just 'Sky'. By June 2005,
5400-458: The broadband Internet service provider Easynet for £211 million. This acquisition allowed Sky to start offering a Sky-branded broadband service as well as a "triple play" package combining satellite television, land-line telephone and Broadband service. Sky also offers some streaming live TV channels to a computer using Microsoft's Silverlight . In early 2012, Sky released an update to its Sky Anytime service. This update offers customers
5500-514: The broadcaster said its reach into 36% of households in the UK represented an audience of more than 25m people. The target was first announced in August 2004, and since then an additional 2.4 million customers had subscribed to Sky's direct-to-home service. Media commentators had debated whether the figure could be reached as the growth in subscriber numbers elsewhere in Europe flattened. In December,
5600-509: The chance to buy and rent films from the Sky Store . On 26 September 2012, Sky relaunched its "Anytime+" on-demand-via-broadband service as "On Demand" as the BBC 's iPlayer joined the line-up of channels offering catch-up TV on the company's Sky+ HD box – linked to a router, the signal from which was recorded before viewing. The BBC was making the preceding week's programmes available alongside ITV , Channel 4 's All 4 , Channel 5 and
5700-418: The clear or soft encrypted (whereby a Videocrypt decoder was required to decode, without a subscription card) before their addition to the Sky Multichannels package. Within two months of the launch, BSkyB gained 400,000 new subscribers, with the majority taking at least one premium channel as well, which helped BSkyB reach 3.5 million households by mid-1994. Michael Grade criticised the operations in front of
5800-471: The clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients . For the 2023–24 season , the Premier League has 13 representatives in the Association: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion , Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, and Wolverhampton Wanderers. The European Club Association
5900-518: The clubs' revenue by then came from television broadcast deals, with the biggest clubs each taking from around £150 million to nearly £200 million in the 2016–17 season from such deals. In Deloitte 's 2019 report, all the "Big Six" were in the top ten of the world's richest clubs. From the 2019–20 season , video assistant referees were used in the league. The 2019–20 season saw Liverpool win their first Premier League trophy, their first top-flight trophy in 30 years. Project Big Picture
6000-434: The company's business strategy to an entirely fee-based concept. The new package included four channels formerly available free-to-air , broadcasting on Astra's satellites, as well as introducing new channels. The service continued until the closure of BSkyB's analogue service on 27 September 2001, due to the expansion of the Sky Digital platform after its launch three years before. Some of the channels did broadcast either in
6100-434: The competition in 2001 . Arsenal ( 2000 ), Middlesbrough ( 2006 ), and Fulham ( 2010 ) all lost their finals. Although the group's dominance was reduced to a degree after this period with the emergence of Manchester City and Tottenham, in terms of all-time Premier League points won, they remain clear by some margin. As of the end of the 2021–22 season – the 30th season of the Premier League – Liverpool, in fourth place in
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#17327719866426200-463: The core Sky TV service. [REDACTED] On 21 October 2016, it was announced that public pre-registration for Sky's new mobile network, Sky Mobile, would take place from 31 October 2016. The network will operate as a Full MVNO , utilising the O2 radio access network infrastructure, and O2's full network speeds and 4G+. On 5 January 2017 Sky Mobile went live to the public across the UK. Coining itself as
6300-577: The cost of stadium upgrades as proposed by the Taylor Report. In 1990, the managing director of London Weekend Television (LWT), Greg Dyke , met with the representatives of the "big five" football clubs in England ( Manchester United , Liverpool , Tottenham Hotspur , Everton , and Arsenal ) over a dinner. The meeting was to pave the way for a breakaway from The Football League . Dyke believed that it would be more lucrative for LWT if only
6400-408: The distinction of having won the most successive titles, with four. Only six clubs have played in every season to date: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton , Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur . Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late 1980s marked a low point for English football. Stadiums were deteriorating, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism
6500-465: The domestic rights of Hollywood films. Following BSkyB's acquisition of Sky Italia and a majority interest in Sky Deutschland in 2014, its holding company British Sky Broadcasting Group plc changed its name to Sky plc (now Sky Group Limited ). The UK subsidiary's name was changed from British Sky Broadcasting Limited to Sky UK Limited, and continuing to trade as "Sky". Sky UK Limited is
6600-424: The dropping of the 3D channel. In September 1993, BSkyB launched Sky Multichannels which was the present digital platform's analogue predecessor. Sky Multichannels was a subscription package that gave access not only to Sky's channels but also to those of third-party broadcasters. The service started on 1 September 1993. It was based on an idea by then CEO Sam Chisholm and chairman Rupert Murdoch of converting
6700-440: The egalitarian revenue structure in the Premier League helps to maintain a competitive league which is vital for its future success. The 2016–17 Deloitte Football Money League report showed the financial disparity between the "Big Six" and the rest of the division. All of the "Big Six" had revenues greater than €350 million, with Manchester United having the largest revenue in the league at €676.3 million. Leicester City
6800-412: The eight Champions League finals , with only the "Big Four" clubs reaching that stage. Liverpool ( 2005 ), Manchester United ( 2008 ), and Chelsea ( 2012 ) won the competition during this period, with Arsenal ( 2006 ), Liverpool ( 2007 ), Chelsea ( 2008 ), and Manchester United ( 2009 and 2011 ) all losing Champions League finals. Leeds United were the only non-"Big Four" side to reach the semi-finals of
6900-464: The final Champions League spot, with the exception of Newcastle in the 2002–03 season, who finished third. Following the 2003–04 season, Arsenal acquired the nickname " The Invincibles " as they became the first and, to date, only club to complete a Premier League campaign without losing a single game. In May 2008, Kevin Keegan stated that "Big Four" dominance threatened the division: "This league
7000-683: The first nine trophies, two League and FA Cup 'doubles' and a European treble, initially under a team of hardened veterans such as Bryan Robson , Steve Bruce , Paul Ince , Mark Hughes , and Eric Cantona , before Cantona, Bruce, and Roy Keane led a young, dynamic new team filled with the Class of 92 , a group of young players including David Beckham who came through the Manchester United Academy. Between 1993 and 1997, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United came close to challenging Manchester United's early dominance; Blackburn won
7100-442: The flow of the game and consistency of decision-making. The on-field referee still makes the final decision, but VAR can assist the referee in the decision-making process. VAR can only be used for four types of decisions: goals, penalty decisions, direct red card incidents, and cases of mistaken identity. VAR officials review the video footage and communicate with the on-field referee via a headset. The VAR officials are located in
7200-638: The future. In later years the Sky+ box and then the Sky+ HD box replaced the original Digibox . The first photos of a prototype Sky HD box began appearing in magazines in August 2005. Sky launched HDTV services in May 2006. All Sky+ HD boxes incorporate a version of Sky+ using a 300GB, 500GB, or 1TB hard drive (of which 160GB, 250GB or 500GB are available to the user) to accommodate the necessary extra data. Sky initially charged an additional subscription fee for using
7300-421: The implementation of an independent regulator, saying in May 2021, "I don't think that the independent regulator is the answer to the question. I would defend the Premier League's role as regulator of its clubs over the past 30 years." [The Premier League] is very tough and is different. If you compare this league to another league, it's like playing another sport. – Antonio Conte , on the competitiveness of
7400-434: The improvement in picture and sound quality, increased number of channels and an interactive service branded Open.... , later called Sky Active . BSkyB competed with the ONdigital (later ITV Digital ) terrestrial offering and cable services. Within 30 days, over 100,000 digiboxes had been sold, which helped bolster BSkyB's decision to give away free digiboxes and mini dishes from May 1999. In addition to most channels from
7500-524: The internet-based Sky Glass, and its flagship channels are Sky Showcase , Sky Max , and Sky Atlantic . Formed as British Sky Broadcasting ( BSkyB ) in November 1990 through the merger of Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting , it grew into a major media company by the end of the decade, notably owning all the television broadcasting rights for the Premier League and almost all
7600-432: The knee at selected "significant moments". They assured to "remain resolutely committed to eradicate racial prejudice". That season was notable for Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion breaking the traditional "Big Six" as they finished fourth and sixth, respectively, whilst "Big Six" teams Tottenham and Chelsea finished eighth and twelfth. Meanwhile, 2015–16 champions Leicester City were relegated, becoming
7700-409: The larger clubs in the country were featured on national television and wanted to establish whether the clubs would be interested in a larger share of television rights money. The five clubs agreed with the suggestion and decided to press ahead with it; however, the league would have no credibility without the backing of The Football Association , and so David Dein of Arsenal held talks to see whether
7800-643: The leaders in this transformation. The commercial imperative led to the top clubs seeking to increase their power and revenue: the clubs in Division One threatened to break away from the Football League, and in doing so, they managed to increase their voting power and gain a more favourable financial arrangement, taking a 50% share of all television and sponsorship income in 1986. They demanded that television companies should pay more for their coverage of football matches, and revenue from television grew in importance. The Football League received £6.3 million for
7900-456: The league at the beginning of the season, Leicester became the first club outside the "Big Six" to win the Premier League since Blackburn Rovers in the 1994–95 season . Off the pitch, the "Big Six" wield significant financial power and influence, with these clubs arguing that they should be entitled to a greater share of revenue due to the greater stature of their clubs globally and the attractive football they aim to play. Objectors argue that
8000-585: The matches between the teams, followed by away goals in those matches.) If two teams are still tied, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Premier League and the EFL Championship . The three lowest placed teams in the Premier League are relegated to the Championship, and the top two teams from the Championship promoted to the Premier League, with an additional team promoted after
8100-597: The network using ADSL , FTTC and FTTP . Sky Talk is a fixed-line telephone service, with options for pay-as-you-go or bundled call minutes. NOW Broadband is a brand name of low-cost broadband plans. It is associated with the Now over-the-top television service brand operated by Sky. Sky offer two security add-ons for Sky Broadband, Sky Broadband Shield and Sky Talk Shield. Sky Broadband Shield offers network-wide web filtering and security and Sky Talk Shield offers spam call blocking. Sky initially faced competition from
8200-514: The number of digital subscribers increase to 7.8m, while it produced 38,375 hours of sport in 2005. In November 2005, in partnership with Vodafone , Sky Mobile TV was launched which was the UK's first commercially available mobile TV service. Vodafone live! customers with 3G -enabled handsets would receive the service. Sky's direct-to-home satellite service became available in 10 million homes in 2010, Europe's first pay-TV platform to achieve that milestone. Confirming it had reached its target,
8300-452: The partly BBC Worldwide-owned UKTV , as well as Sky's own channels. Sky Go is provided free of charge for Sky (satellite TV) subscribers and allows them to watch channels live and on-demand through an internet connection on a computer or mobile device. On 29 May 2009, it was confirmed that Sky Go would be made available on the Xbox 360 . In November 2011 Sony Computer Entertainment struck
8400-430: The reception of VAR on Twitter is largely negative, with fans expressing frustration and criticism of the technology's impact on the flow of the game and the inconsistency of decisions. The researchers also identified specific issues, such as handball and offside decisions, that fans are particularly critical of. The study concludes that VAR has not been well received by fans in the Premier League, and that efforts to improve
8500-633: The rest of Sky after its bid gained acceptance from 95.3% of the broadcaster's shareholders with the company being delisted by early 2019. Sky was delisted on 7 November 2018 after Comcast acquired all remaining shares. On 17 September 2020, Sky Arts became the first premium Sky channel to become available on the free to air terrestrial Freeview service, joining Sky News and a couple of channels which trace their lineage back to Flextech ( Pick and Challenge ). On 28 July 2021, Sky announced that its flagship channel Sky One would shut down on 1 September, to be replaced by two channels; Sky Showcase , showing
8600-490: The rights paying £670m 1997–2001 deal, but was challenged by ONdigital for the rights from 2001 to 2004, thus were forced to £1.1 billion which gave them 66 live games a year. Following a lengthy legal battle with the European Commission, which deemed the exclusivity of the rights to be against the interests of competition and the consumer, BSkyB's monopoly came to an end from the 2007–08 season . In May 2006,
8700-417: The rights. BSkyB joined forces with the BBC to make a counter bid. The BBC was given the highlights of most of the matches, while BSkyB paying £304m for the Premier League rights, would give them a monopoly of all live matches, up to 60 per year from the 1992 season. Murdoch described sport as a "battering ram" for pay television, providing a strong customer base. A few weeks after the deal, ITV went to
8800-540: The second league-winning club to suffer relegation since 1992, after Blackburn Rovers in the 2011–12 season . In the 2023–24 season , Manchester City won the Premier League for the sixth time in seven years to become the first top-flight team to win four consecutive league titles in English football history. Meanwhile, non-Big Six club Aston Villa finished fourth and qualified for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League . The Football Association Premier League Ltd (FAPL)
8900-481: The service. However, this was replaced by Sky Three on 31 October 2005, which was itself later re-branded as 'Pick TV' in 2011. On 8 February 2007, Sky announced its intention to replace its three free-to-air digital terrestrial channels with four subscription channels. It was proposed that these channels would offer a range of content from the Sky portfolio including sports (including English Premier League Football), films, entertainment and news. The announcement came
9000-537: The start of the 2007–08 season . The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction. Ultimately, the 2007–08 season kicked off again with 20 teams. Video assistant referee (VAR), was introduced to the Premier League at the beginning of the 2019–20 season . It uses technology and officials to assist the referee in making decisions on the pitch. However, its use has been met with mixed receptions from fans and pundits, with some praising its accuracy whilst others criticise its impact on
9100-527: The threat of ten clubs leaving to form a "super league", but they were eventually persuaded to stay, with the top clubs taking the lion's share of the deal. The negotiations also convinced the bigger clubs that, in order to receive enough votes, they needed to take the whole of the First Division with them instead of a smaller "super league". By the beginning of the 1990s, the big clubs again considered breaking away, especially now that they had to fund
9200-485: The title Sky Digital . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sky_Digital&oldid=1096593202 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Sky UK Sky UK Limited , trading as Sky ,
9300-631: The turn of the 1990s, the downward trend was starting to reverse. At the 1990 FIFA World Cup , England reached the semi-finals; UEFA , European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990, resulting in Manchester United lifting the Cup Winners' Cup in 1991 . The Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadiums in
9400-508: Was announced in October 2020 that described a plan to reunite the top Premier League clubs with the English Football League , proposed by leading Premier League clubs Manchester United and Liverpool . It has been criticised by the Premier League leadership and the UK government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport . On 26 April 2021, play was stopped during a match between Leicester City and Crystal Palace to allow players Wesley Fofana and Cheikhou Kouyaté to break Ramadan fast . It
9500-442: Was composed of 22 clubs for that season (reduced to 20 in the 1995–96 season ). The first Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. Manchester United won the inaugural edition of the new league, ending a twenty-six year wait to be crowned champions of England. Bolstered by this breakthrough, United immediately became the competition's dominant team, winning seven of
9600-579: Was founded as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992, following the decision of First Division (the top-tier league from 1888 until 1992) clubs to break away from the English Football League. However, teams may still be relegated to and promoted from the EFL Championship . The Premier League is a corporation managed by a chief executive , with member clubs acting as shareholders. The Premier League takes advantage of
9700-529: Was reported that Sky UK had concluded successful negotiations with Netflix to offer Sky subscribers access to its international streaming service. Comcast , the largest cable TV provider in the United States, outbid 21st Century Fox , on 22 September 2018 in an auction for control of Sky UK. On 4 October 2018, Fox sold their stake to Comcast, giving the latter a 76.8% controlling stake. On 12 October 2018, Comcast announced it will compulsorily acquire
9800-505: Was rife, and English clubs had been banned from European competition for five years following the Heysel Stadium disaster between the fans of Liverpool Football Club and the fans of Juventus in 1985. The Football League First Division , the top level of English football since 1888, was behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga in attendance and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad. By
9900-424: Was the closest club to the "Big Six" in terms of revenue, recording a figure of €271.1 million for that season – helped by participation in the Champions League. The eighth-largest revenue generator, West Ham – who did not play in European competition – had revenues of €213.3 million, less than half of those of the club with the fifth-largest revenue, Liverpool (€424.2 million). A substantial part of
10000-476: Was the highest of any association football league at 14,508,981, and most stadium occupancies are near capacity. As of 2023 , the Premier League is ranked first in the UEFA coefficient rankings based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons, ahead of Spain's La Liga . The English top-flight has produced the second-highest number of European Cup / UEFA Champions League titles, with
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