Psst! Is the coast clear? As son James Murdoch takes the chair again, it’s natural to ask whether dad’s Fox will try to reach for the whole of Sky once more. After all, the collapse of sterling – one fruit of Rupert’s Brexit championing – makes the price in greenbacks much more alluring, although repatriating profits to New York turns the bucket the other way. And in the years since the deal first stalled, one or three unwelcome things have happened. See Netflix/Amazon and the rise of streaming. See BT and the soaring cost of sports rights. But see, too, increasing transatlantic worries over sport itself as the driver of ever-bigger subscriptions.
Here’s Neil Campling, head of global research at Northern Trust Capital Markets: “The warning signs are ominous. Nielsen data points to the fact that average network viewership of NFL (American football) has fallen at alarming rates. Nielsen data report that viewerships of prime-time games are down 14% year on year so far this season among the coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic. CBS Thursday night games are down 15%, NBC’s Sunday night games are down 12% and ESPN’s flagship ‘Monday Night Football’ games have lost 16%.”
Nor is American football feeling the blight alone. Olympics and open tennis audiences fell very short of expectations too. How long before the bloat of the Premier League – already squeaking in early games – goes the same way?
