A NUMBER of pubs in Worcestershire have fallen foul of the law in recent years for showing foreign broadcasts of televised Premier League football matches.
Showing live matches broadcast in the UK by Sky can cost pubs up to £7,200 a year.
Unsurprisingly, some landlords risk breaking the law by showing far cheaper foreign broadcasts.
Now a landlady from Portsmouth looks likely to change the costs of televised sport forever – and that is good news for pub customers and viewers at home.
Karen Murphy has taken a test case to the European courts to allow her to show Greek broadcasts of Premier League games, including matches not normally shown live on British television.
Her argument – which looks like being accepted by the European Court of Justice – is that the EU single market should allow her to use any European providers.
Such a ruling will see pubs paying £800 a year or less to show more live matches than they are able to currently.
And home customers would also be able to subscribe to foreign broadcasters rather than be forced to join up with Sky.
The Premier League and Sky have reacted angrily to the advice given by the European Court of Justice’s advocate general in favour of Mrs Murphy’s case.
Well, they would do, wouldn’t they?
We doubt there will be many armchair football fans crying into their beer at the prospect of paying less money to either organisation.
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