UK: 77% of fans want to see more live Premier League matches (Virgin Media)

77% of English football fans want to see more Barclays Premier League matches live on television, said a survey commissioned by Virgin Media, the British telecommunications group and cable television provider, the results of which were published on 21/10/2015.

Only 6% of those who took part in the survey indicated that they were able to watch as many games as they want at home on television. Two thirds believed that the increased price of live Premier League broadcasting rights will mean that they will overpay for their subscription in order to watch the live football on television.

The Virgin Media survey comes nearly a year after Ofcom launched an investigation into the conditions of sale of Premier League home broadcasting rights, on 18/11/2014. Virgin Media had asked the UK independent regulatory authority, on 30/09/2014, to conduct the survey before the launch of the tender of rights for the 2016-2019 cycle, made by the Premier League on 12/12/2014 (the main rights were awarded to the pay-TV groups Sky plc and BT Sport, on 10/02/2015).

Virgin Media believes that these…