Foundation of the Premier League

[8] The first major step to its formation occurred in October 1990, when the managing director of London Weekend Television (LWT), Greg Dyke, met with the representatives of the "big five" clubs – David Dein of Arsenal, Philip Carter of Everton, Noel White of Liverpool, Martin Edwards of Manchester United and Irving Scholar of Tottenham Hotspur.

[14] Cost-cutting measures were imposed by BSkyB's new chief executive Sam Chisholm, one being the successful negotiation of cheaper contracts to screen films from Hollywood studios.

[16] Live rights to top-flight football was moreover unaffordable for the BBC, whose priority was restoring Match of the Day to its traditional spot on Saturday evenings.

[4] Premier League chief executive Rick Parry and chairman Sir John Quinton were assigned the task of finding suitors.

Parry initially favoured working with ITV, led by Greg Dyke, but wanted the network to pay in excess of £30 million for live football.

In the meantime BSkyB – a company formed by the merger of Rupert Murdoch's Sky Television, and British Satellite Broadcasting – looked into the possibility of obtaining live rights to the Premier League.

BSkyB chief executive Sam Chisholm attempted to make a joint offer with ITV which did not come into fruition, so he formed an alliance with the BBC, as he was aware the corporation wanted a highlights package.

He persuaded the clubs to set up a separate working party, which led by himself, Ron Noades and Bill Fotherby in October 1991 came to an agreement of the sale of a shared package.

As Mihir Bose, author of Game Changer: How the English Premier League Came to Dominate the World notes, "That did not prevent rival club chairman from meeting competing broadcasters on their own.

"[16] Dein for instance visited Greg Dyke, chairman of London Weekend Television (LWT), and was offered £4 million per year, over four seasons in pursuance of live Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton home games on ITV.

He and executive director Trevor East commented on BSkyB's debt and felt the company would be forced to increase their borrowing if they were awarded a contract.

[25] In February 1992, Quinton met Murdoch over lunch to go over his expectations, with the idea of a Premier League dedicated channel high on his priority.

When the first bids had been tabled by March 1992, Parry and Quinton enlisted the help of Academy, a market research company to look at sponsorship potential, and David Plowright for advice on broadcasting issues.

[26] SBC around this time submitted plans for a dedicated football channel and wrote to Parry about the long-term issues the league would face if they sold out to Sky.

He told Parry that BSkyB would move its sports coverage on a subscription basis if they obtained rights – the network's revenues up until then "had derived entirely from conventional sales of advertising.

[30] East was confident of closing the deal – he was supported by 11 club chairmen and was informed that ITV's rivals would have to come up with £100 million a year to better their offer.

[31] Parry was undecided as to which bid he preferred; though he favoured a non-exclusive deal with ITV, he wanted the reconsider its decision to work with subscription companies.

[33] BSkyB's alliance with the BBC also convinced Parry; when he informed Dyke of this, the ITV chairman threatened to do a deal directly with the clubs which angered him.

[29] During the meeting Dein attempted to get Sugar disqualified from casting his vote on grounds the Tottenham Hotspur chairman had vested interest, but was overruled.

[44] Quinton however rejected the plea and clarified the league's stance: BSkyB's bid was better "... not only in money terms but as far as the potential for future income is concerned.

"[44] Parry said ITV would have won broadcasting rights had they "allowed us to have a pay channel in the long term and it had terrestrial coverage in the short-term.

"[46] The High Court refused to grant an injunction; the judge concluded the matter was "a great deal more difficult than it seems at first sight" and it would be wrong to force the league to consider new offers.

[50] The Guardian correspondent David Lacey suggested that fans were the biggest losers: "A lot of people who want to watch matches regularly in future are going to have to buy a bond or a dish.

[43] Everton chairman David Marsh was disappointed with the introduction of football on Monday nights, as it disrupted "the social life of British society and the fans.

"[52] Both Merseyside clubs offered its season ticket holders a refund for matches rescheduled for Monday nights, provided fans gave a seven-day notice.

[53] Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said the prospect of playing on Sunday and Monday was a disadvantage to his and other clubs' chances in Europe.

"[54] ITV sought legal action after learning BSkyB had submitted an improved bid without their knowledge, but their case was thrown out of the High Court.

The Premier League benefited financially from BSkyB's involvement in football and has since seen an increase in the value of broadcasting rights and number of matches televised.

[57] BSkyB in turn gained from having exclusive rights to top-flight football; the company made a £62m profit in 1993 following a loss the previous year.

Following a trial in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court by Mr Justice Rose, it was held that the formation of the Premier League was not subject to judicial review, The Football Association being governed by private law.