The next multi-billion-pound battle for football broadcasting rights may be brought forward six months under plans suggested by the Premier League.
BT and BSkyB could have to bid for pay-TV rights as early as December, rather than after the end of the next football season in June 2015.
The plans were aired by the Premier League in meetings with broadcasters but have met some opposition, with sources close to the talks saying the league was suspected of trying to exploit the rivalry between BSkyB and BT.
The companies paid more than £3billion between them last time they bid in 2012, and analysts already expect the next total to be significantly higher.
Dr Toby Syfret, a television industry analyst at Enders Analysis, said: “I think it looks more like commercial opportunism than anything else.”