Football: BSkyB to lose Premiership games.

The European Commission on Wednesday warned that BSkyB will not be allowed a monopoly on live Premiership games when their new three-year deal expires in 2007.

It follows the announcement that BSkyB will televise all 138 live Premiership football matches from next season after other broadcasters failed to meet a price for a package of up to eight live games kicking off at 5.15pm on Saturdays.

Sky were forced to put the package of six to eight matches up for tender in order to satisfy EC competition watchdogs but none of the bids matched the reserve price that the satellite broadcaster had agreed with Brussels.

EC competition spokeswoman Amelia Torres said they accepted that BSkyB would now show all the matches but warned that the monopoly would not be permitted in the future.

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