Corbyn should put football’s TV rights at the heart of his war on sky-high pay

Jeremy Corbyn makes a good point about the extraordinary pay of Premier League football players, but makes no concrete proposals on how to solve the issue. This is what he should propose.

In the sale of football TV rights, capitalism is acting against the consumer, against the companies, against the clubs. The only beneficiaries are the tiny number of top-rated players.

In 2015, BT entered the bidding for the Champions League, resulting in a 70 per cent increase in the sale of TV rights. More competition should mean a better deal for consumers, but this cash will by-pass everyone else and go directly to the players. So if a player was getting £300,000 per game then, he should expect £500,000 per game now. However, his talent will not increase by 70 per cent. His productivity will not increase by 70 per cent. The fans will not receive a 70 per cent increase in benefit. This is the dysfunctional way the market works in football rights.

The buyers of the rights, BT and Sky, seem uninterested in football itself. They want to sell TV in order to bundle telephone and broadband into the sale. Football is unique as an anchor for the sales of these products. This is not healthy competition that drives down prices for consumers, but unhealthy competition that drives them up.

There is nothing wrong with this in law. It is common business practice to seek to anchor a market. Many a Labour councillor would reach out to Marks & Spencer or Tesco in the hope that the opening of a large store will revitalise a declining town centre or local street market. The problem with football rights, is that it is massive, the inequality is extreme, and that football is our national sport, our national culture, so shouldn’t be denied on affordability issues.

It has got so bad that most people are forced to go to the pub to watch a game of football, because they can’t afford it at home. Dads used to bond with sons over this game, but not anymore. The affect on the players seems to be worst, with greed for league games manifesting in contempt for international tournaments, much to our shame.

It’s not all bad news. The early inflation caused by satellite broadcasting funded the new stadiums. Today, the offering has widened with Friday night games. Most fans are happy to see the best players come to this country, although British players are denied opportunities as a result. Mostly it is bad news.

It would be right and proper for government to intervene by legislating that the television last auction be nullified and that the price paid at the previous auction in 2013/14 be applied today.

The games could be divided evenly between Sky and BT. Any argument over specific games can be decided by the toss of a coin. With the football rights out of the way, this would leave Sky and BT to compete on price and service.

This is not just about the cost of living for ordinary people, who have seen the following of football become an exclusive leisure activity of the middle class. It’s also about making a point about the Tory argument that “the market is always right”. This is an argument of dogma, and not of common sense. There is a clear distinction between ourselves and the Tories on this issue.

This would be a popular intervention in the market. It would be pro-business, pro-family and pro our national sport.

Corbyn should make this a Labour Party policy.