The High Court has reserved judgment in the case of a South Coast pub that is screening live Premier League football from the Greek DTH platform Nova rather than subscribe to Sky’s retail package.
The case was brought by the Premier League against Karen Murphy of the Red, White and Blue pub in Hampshire and is seen as a test case against the growing number of publicans looking to avoid what they perceive as Sky’s inflated prices. Murphy is paying around £800 a year for her Nova subscription received from the Eutelsat Hotbird neighbourhood. Sky’s retail package would cost her in the region of £6,000. The price differential will be inflated because the Nova package will without doubt be a domestic subscription, despite being inflated by a third party subscription agent.
The Premier League is worried that if it was to lose the case it could spell the breakdown of geographical rights for its product.
Lord Justice Pumfrey and Mr Justice Stanley Burnton are expected to deliver their verdict in the next few weeks.
