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The Premier League was formed with the intention of English football's top clubs capitalising on television rights. Whereas in the Football League money is distributed to the lower leagues, the Premier League intended to sell its own rights, with earnings from broadcasts divided equally between the member clubs only. The decision to break away and start a new league also gave clubs the chance to vote on decisions through a one club-one vote motion. Premier League chief executive Rick Parry and chairman Sir John Quinton were assigned the task of finding suitors. Parry initially favoured working with ITV, led by Greg Dyke, but wanted the network to pay in excess of £30 million for live football. In the meantime BSkyB – a company formed by the merger of Rupert Murdoch's Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting – looked into the possibility of obtaining live rights to the Premier League. BSkyB chief executive Sam Chisholm attempted to make a joint offer with ITV which did not come into fruition, so he formed an alliance with the BBC, aware the corporation wanted a highlights package. Although Chisholm was against Parry's idea of a football-only channel, he built a rapport with the Premier League and his company invited Parry to its facilities in Livingston, where he spoke to Murdoch in person. Nearer the time of the vote Chisholm made a successful pitch to the league chairmen which worried Dyke. He phoned the ITV franchises and advised them to raise their collective bid – this came to a total of £262 million. Upon receiving the bid on the day of the vote, Parry phoned Chisholm and advised him to bid higher. Chisholm in turn telephoned Murdoch to seek his permission and submitted a new offer which totalled £304 million. At the clubs' meeting, Parry recommended BSkyB's joint bid with the BBC which won the vote by 14 to 6 with two abstentions. The deal was scrutinised by much of the English print media and leading figures of English football. ITV sought legal action after learning BSkyB had submitted an improved bid without their knowledge, but their case was thrown out of the High Court. BSkyB's continued partnership with the Premier League has led to an increase in the value of broadcasting rights and matches televised. Managers however have voiced their concerns about the latter and the excessive cost of live rights is partly a reason why top-flight football has not returned to the BBC or ITV. In 2005 BSkyB's monopoly on live rights ended after the European Commission ruled that the Premier League needed to have more than one holder. ==Background== A proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled at the end of the 1990–91 season. It received the support of representatives of all eighteen First Division clubs, as well as The Football Association (FA) through its "Blueprint for the Future of Football" publication. The Premier League was actualised in stages: the signing of the Founder Members Agreement on 17 July 1991, clubs handing a joint notice of resignation from the Football League, and the final go-ahead from the FA who administered affairs. The Premier League was created to prevent the top clubs from losing income to the lower leagues, but also served the purpose of maximising the clubs' bargaining position for when the next television contract was up for renewal. ITV held exclusive rights to live Football League matches, having paid £44 million over a four-year period (1988–1992). The arrangement came after the withdrawal of a joint bid made by the BBC and British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB).〔 〕 Both broadcasters later obtained rights to FA Cup football. Unlike the Football League, the Premier League was set up with a two-man board: Rick Parry, the chief executive, and Sir John Quinton who was appointed as the league's chairman in December 1991. Decisions would be taken on by all members, through a one club-one vote motion. A clear majority needed two-thirds. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Broadcasting and the foundation of the Premier League」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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