Pubs win Premier League rights after court ruling

PUBS ACROSS Shropshire today won the right to screen Premier League matches from foreign channels following a landmark European Court ruling.

Landlords will now be able to broadcast British matches from overseas channels rather than pay Sky thousands of pounds a year in subscriptions.

European judges backed Portsmouth landlady Karen Murphy's fight to use a foreign decoder to screen games in her pub.

Landlords in Shropshire today said they would look into installing their own foreign decoders and ditch their contracts with Sky, but nationally officials are seeking clarification from the Government on the ruling.

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: "At last, the end is now in sight to years of uncertainty surrounding this issue.

"The UK authorities should now very quickly clarify the position in UK law so pubs know exactly where they stand.

"Perhaps now football will become more affordable for pubs, as live sport is a key ingredient of a great pub for millions of customers.

"The underlying driver of the problem has been the big price hikes that Sky have levied, with a 20 per cent rise last year alone."

Paul Quinn, landlord of The Pheasant Inn in Newport which was recently voted one of the top five sports pubs in the UK, pays about £15,000 a year for his Sky Sports package.

He said: "Sky has got very expensive. When I started it was £150 a month now I pay about £1,300 a month.

"I think the ruling will be good for a lot of businesses, hopefully it will be good for us as well. It will open up a cheaper option for everyone but could also make it harder for us because of the increased competition."

The ruling will come as a blow to clubs who claim match attendances are diving because fans are opting to watch games free on TV.

Wolves chief Jez Moxey said average attendances at Molineux were 2,500 down on last season and he blamed the growing trend of pubs using Albanian, Latvian and Greek providers instead of Sky or ESPN.