ALMR: Pubs have to sell 25,000 extra pints to pay for Sky
Multiple operators have to sell around 25,000 extra pints over the course of a season to cover the cost of a Sky subscription.
The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) said its member were now paying an average of £15,000 a year and that hundreds of pubs are ditching the service because of the expense of forking out for the 92 live Premier League games.
However, Sky said the average subscription was actually £5,400 a year but ALMR members paid more as they generally had larger sites and may be in areas with a higher rateable value.
The trade body also said that only 42% of its members were happy with Sky's service, compared to 82% of domestic subscribers. The information forms part of the ALMR's submission to Ofcom's inquiry in to Pay TV.
"Sky has exploited its monopoly position in the commercial sector to impose enormous price increases on pubs," said ALMR chief executive Nick Bish.
"They shouldn't underestimate how important the sector is — we estimate that Sky now generates £340m annually from pub subscriptions, covering the majority of its £433m outlay on Premiership TV rights.
"Watching the big game in the pub is second only to being there and it is much kinder on the wallet. If Sky continues unchecked, more and more pubs will be faced with the stark choice of pulling the plug or passing on costs in uncompetitive beer prices."
Inflation-busting rises
Julian Sargeson, chief executive of Cougar Leisure, which runs 21 pubs and bars in the North West said: "Sky Sports is a fantastic product and my customers love watching big games in the pub for the great atmosphere, especially now going to matches is so expensive.
"However, ten years of inflation-busting subscription rises is just too much to bear in these difficult times. I have not renewed my subscription in a quarter of our outlets and we are reviewing whether we can continue to offer live football to our customers across the entire estate."
ALMR council member Paul Wigham, managing director of the Bar Group, which operates 24 pubs in London and the South East, said: "We relied on the big four games (Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool) to bring in the crowds and make a Sky Sports subscription financially viable. However, we can only fit in so many fans and the rates jump up every season. It's a great pity but it simply isn't good business anymore. I've had to take the difficult decision to let our subscriptions lapse across the board."
Labour MP and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group John Grogan added: "At the moment it seems to me that Sky has the nation's licensees over a barrel."
A Sky spokeswoman said: "Our product helps pubs attract customers and increase sales. We invest almost £1bn a year in sport and we provide value for money through a year-round schedule of live sport of which the Barclays Premier League is just one important part. Our customers also benefit from coverage of the UEFA Champions League, World Cup qualifiers, the FA Cup, and Carling Cup as well as live cricket, golf and rugby."
