TV won't switch off the footie yet

Back home, last season's viewing figures for ITV's coverage of the FA Cup had shown an encouraging trend, with an average increase of one million additional viewers per game. The trend lasted until the final. Just over five million people watched Arsenal play Liverpool, whereas the previous season's potentially less attractive final of Chelsea v Aston Villa drew more than seven million.

From the start of next season, ITV's costs mount. They will replace the BBC - who attracted the largest live audience of the season, 10.8m for Liverpool v Alaves in the UEFA Cup final - and show Premiership highlights each weekend.

ITV Sport paid £193m for these rights and have tabled controversial plans to bring the transmission time forward to attract a wider audience. Programme schedulers are unhappy at the prospect. They argue that the best time for attracting what will remain a largely young male audience is after the pubs close. It seems unlikely, then, that we shall see Des Lynam at 7pm each Saturday.

ITV's search for a title sponsor for this programme was rewarded last Wednesday when Coca-Cola agreed to a three-year deal worth £50m, the largest ever sponsorship arrangement in British television history.

Nevertheless, as advertising revenues are understood to have fallen by 20 per cent last month, ITV urgently need more of the same in order to cover the costs of their football coverage.

For the weekend highlights alone, they must find at least £74m each season in order to break even. While the Coke deal is great news, they are still looking at an annual shortfall of £57m and this excludes the cost of their Champions League coverage.

It may appear, then, that Sky Sports have overpaid for live Premiership rights for the next three seasons. They are committed to paying £1.16bn for this particular "killer content" and their viewing figures remain small in comparison with terrestrial broadcasters.

Of course, in addition to television advertising revenues, Sky have the benefit of a continuous revenue flow from their five million subscribers. However, as the potential number of subscribers is finite, non-terrestrial broadcasters are developing new technologies to create additional ways in which they can generate more revenue directly from viewers.

IT is a process well under way elsewhere in Europe where satellite and cable broadcasters have paid a king's ransom to secure live football action. Only in France and Spain, among the major footballing nations, are selected domestic league games shown live on terrestrial television.

In an attempt to recoup their huge costs, the satellite and cable broadcasters' arithmetic is not based on attracting an infinite number of new subscribers, nor charging vastly inflated television advertising rates.

The ace is their viewing audiences, which may be relatively small, but they are targeted. The new technology now allows sponsors and advertisers to communicate directly and more effectively with these viewers.

As with the internet, once interaction between viewer and advertiser has taken place, a valuable record of "lifestyle data" and spending patterns is built up by the broadcaster. Satellite and cable subscribers can look forward to developments such as the perimeter advertising boards at games being replaced by electronic images, or virtual boards on to which the viewer can click to receive further details.

In particular, the football fan can expect a huge growth in interactive betting on matches, even during the game. A small screen may appear when the ball goes out of play, asking the viewer to bet on how many more corners or throw-ins there will be in, say, the next 20 minutes.

The broadcasters will own or will take a commission from these new interactive services in order to supplement their existing income. For an organisation such as Sky, an interactive betting platform operated during live games could net around £40m over the course of their three-year Premier League contract.

But the fans should keep an eye on the substitutes' bench for mobile phone use. A rapid succession of corners could result in a defender having to contend with Lord Condon rather than his centre-forward.