Government tackles a bid too far by BSkyB

Former BSkyB boss Mr Sam Chisholm once described the relationship between BSkyB and the Premier League as "one of the great corporate romances" and the partners have taken a firm grip on popular culture in the 1990s.

BSkyB has used live rights to premier league action to build a successful pay TV business while the millions of pounds it has injected into the game have helped to put Manchester United back among the elite of European soccer.

But now the Blair government has ruled that a billion dollar takeover of United by BSkyB, 40 per cent owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, would be a step too far, hurting competition between broadcasters and creating too big a gap between rich and poor in the Premier League.

The move has political implications, with Mr Blair risking his first serious confrontation with Mr Murdoch and his powerful media empire. But the implications for the relationship between TV and football are more immediate. Central to the decision was the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's (MMC) conclusion that the deal would adversely affect other broadcasters' ability to negotiate with the Premier League, despite last-minute assurances from BSkyB that Manchester United would withdraw from those talks.

The British government also announced that a possible bid to take over Newcastle United by cable operator NTL would be referred to the MMC, now known as the Competition Commission.

The initial feeling was that the Manchester United decision would make it hard for the government to allow other media companies to buy up soccer clubs, although some analysts said the ruling might prove a one-off.

The fact that media companies are interested in clubs shows how far soccer has come in the 1990s. Wind the clock back a few years and things look rather different. Indeed, when Manchester United floated in 1991, more than half of the shares ended up in the hands of the underwriters.

English soccer had an appalling image after the 1985 Heysel stadium disaster and the Hillsborough tragedy in 1989. But the latter incident almost exactly a decade ago finally proved a turning point.

It prompted the introduction of modern all-seater stadiums and vastly improved facilities, a move which has helped to curb hooliganism and attract more families to matches.

However, much of English soccer's revival in recent years - from spanking new stadiums to star foreign signings - has been bankrolled by BSkyB.

The two teamed up in 1992 when the 20 top clubs broke away from the rest of the professional game to set up the elite Premier League. BSkyB, seeking programming content to woo satellite TV subscribers, bought up the live TV rights.

Neither side has looked back since.

BSkyB signed up millions of subscribers and the value of the rights rocketed. BSkyB agreed in 1996 to pay £670 million sterling (€997 million) to extend the agreement to 2001 - trebling its previous deal.

BSkyB's coverage of 60 live games a season has helped to turn top players into multimillionaires and make the game fashionable again.