The day after the Charity Shield, Manchester City had just returned to Manchester when a special guest visited the club's president, Joseph Lam, who was media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Murdoch's name is thunderous to Ding Hongxing and Lin Yaozu, and he owns many well-known media in Europe, America and Asia, such as Sky TV, which has the rights to broadcast the Premier League, which is his industry.

Murdoch visited, Lin Yaozu did not dare to slack off, he received Murdoch in his office, Murdoch of course attaches great importance to Lin Yaozu, otherwise he would not visit in person, after all, Lin Yaozu is the heir to the head of the Lin family in Hong Kong, that is, the next helmsman of the Lin Group, and the Lin Group is a behemoth that Murdoch has to face, and the status of several Asian TV stations is also very important in Murdoch's media empire.

However, Murdoch's visit this time was not because of the affairs of several Asian media, Lin Yaozu heard him say a few words, so he asked Murdoch to wait for a while with a serious face, he made a phone call and called Ding Hongxing.

Because he just won the Charity Shield yesterday, so today the Manchester City team has a day off and does not need to train, Ding Hongxing was at home when he received the call, and he heard Lin Yaozu say that Murdoch was visiting, and there was something important to discuss, let him go, Ding Hongxing's mind was spinning, and he immediately guessed Murdoch's intention.

This season is the final of the Premier League's first five-year broadcast deal with Sky TV, which expires at the end of the season and now negotiations for the next one will begin.

Sky TV's main rivals are independent television, and they are very optimistic about the prospects of the Premier League, and they are determined to win this broadcast deal, and in order to get the broadcast rights, they will have to win the support of most Premier League teams, and Manchester City, who won the Premier League last season, are naturally their main targets.

Ding Hongxing was on the way to the club and thought about it clearly.

When I came to Lin Yaozu's office, I saw an old man in his sixties sitting opposite Lin Yaozu, although this old man was not young, and his head was almost all bald, but he was still very strong, he was wearing a pair of glasses, and his eyes were shining with wisdom, he was Murdoch.

Seeing Ding Hongxing come in, before Lin Yaozu introduced him, Murdoch stood in with a smile, stretched out his right hand to Ding Hongxing and said, "Hello, Ding, your ball is played very well, I am your fan!" I was there to watch your game yesterday. Congratulations on receiving the Charity Shield. ”

Ding Hongxing shook hands with him and said with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Murdoch, it's a pleasure to meet you!" ”

After the two shook hands, they sat on the sofa, and Lin Yaozu said: "Mr. Murdoch, the reason why I asked Ding Hongxing to participate in our conversation is because he has a lot of say in the decision-making of Manchester City Club, so please understand." ”

Murdoch's eyes lit up, and he could hear the meaning of Lin Yaozu's words, but this was something that could only be understood but not spoken, so he just nodded and said, "Don't be too polite, just call me Rupert." Since both of you are here, I'll say again what I mean. ”

Murdoch's visit, sure enough, is for the broadcast agreement, the Premier League's first five-year broadcast agreement is about to expire, the renewal of the broadcast agreement will soon enter the substantive negotiation stage, Sky TV and the Premier League signed the first broadcast agreement is very successful, Sky TV not only gave the Premier League team a relatively generous share of the broadcast fee, but also promoted the Premier League to every corner of the world, and the higher and higher level of the Premier League, also made Sky TV's ratings higher and higher, It has brought a huge income to Sky TV, which can be described as a win-win situation.

It is precisely because of the success of the first broadcast agreement that the price of the second broadcast agreement is bound to rise significantly, and Murdoch has prepared a four-year broadcast agreement with a broadcast fee of 670 million pounds, the term of this agreement is reduced by one year compared with the previous one, and the broadcast fee is more than four times that of the previous one.

However, there are several major clubs in the Premier League who are not satisfied with Sky's terms and prefer to accept the terms of independent television, but in fact, the annual broadcast fee proposed by independent television is lower than that of Sky.

The reason is that in Sky TV's broadcast agreement, the sharing plan of the broadcast fee is more favorable to small clubs, and their sharing plan is to divide half of the broadcast fee of each season equally among each club, and the other half is distributed according to the results, this sharing plan, even if the league champion and the league vice president get the money gap will not be particularly large, the league champion can probably share more than 10 million pounds per year, and the deputy team leader can at least share about 6 million pounds.

The sharing plan of independent TV stations is different, they mainly consider the interests of big clubs, and their broadcast fee distribution is completely based on the league results, such a distribution plan, the league champion may be divided into more than 20 million pounds, and the deputy squad leader is about one or two million, such a gap is too big.

The independent TV sharing plan is more accepted by several large clubs, while Sky TV's sharing plan is preferred by the smaller clubs, and there is a clear distinction between them, the big clubs are of course more powerful, and the smaller clubs are more numerous, so the two sides are temporarily evenly balanced.

Manchester City used to be part of a small club, but since they won the Premier League last season, they have become a significant force in the Premier League, and now their attitude is important, and the situation has become delicate, and it was natural that they would support Sky TV, and now, obviously, the independent TV plan is more beneficial to them, so it is a bit confusing who they are supporting.

If Manchester City FC supports Independent TV, then the balance will tip in favor of Independent TV, and if Manchester City FC supports Sky TV, then the balance will at least maintain an even-handedness, and even tilt in favor of Sky TV, because Manchester City's current strength is really enough to change the inherent pattern of the Premier League.

Manchester City's status is so important now, and the broadcast of the Premier League is also crucial to the future development of Sky TV, it can be said that if you want to win the rights to broadcast the Premier League, you must win the support of Manchester City, so it is no wonder that Murdoch will visit in person.