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For the irresistible combination of a hunger for greater profits by the top clubs

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For the irresistible combination of a hunger for greater profits by the top clubs and advanced broadcast technology will dictate otherwise. And a more equitable distribution of broadcast rights will have to be achieved to stave off further legal actions.Yet, this won't necessarily mean a bad deal for the fans of televised football. It is well nigh inconceivable that the present deal between BSkyB and the BBC will simply be nodded through, at a higher price, despite the apparent acceptance that it is the "common-sense" solution for the game, and the best that the fans can expect. So was it mere coincidence that NTL's logo should appear on the shirts of both Celtic and Newcastle for their friendly game last week, and also on the blue Rangers jersey for their European tie?With Granada embedded in Liverpool, NTL said to be still eyeing Newcastle, and Carlton stalking Arsenal, there will almost certainly be half-a-dozen important club- broadcaster alliances in place by the time the Premiership rights come up for renewal in 2001. First, it bought a huge part of Cable & Wireless's British infrastructure for pounds 8.2 billion - yes, billion. This makes it the biggest cable operator in Britain, and its digital television service begins in September.

Why the sudden interest in a Scouse culture that they ignored for the best part of their 43 years of broadcasting in the North-west? On Merseyside, the suspicion is that there are more strings to the deal than Mantovani.Equally, the American communications group NTL was very busy last week. Yet their only other previous investment in Liverpool, the city, had been setting The Richard and Judy Show in the Albert Dock. The biggest Premiership clubs are still nursing ambitions to negotiate their own television rights, and there are plenty of broadcasters out there whispering in their ears about the vast incomes available. Indeed, some of them had almost certainly been taking positions in anticipation of the current deal going down.Granada's pounds 22m input to Liverpool was passed off as an "innocent" investment revolving around catering and publishing rights. Meanwhile the BBC cheered the survival of its much-cherished national institution, Match of the Day. Although some stability has been brought to a game that is changing almost too fast for its own good, that relief may only be temporary. BSkyB celebrated its continuing monopoly on live broadcasts of Premiership games, and its lucky escape from having to buy Manchester United in order to guard that monopoly. So the Premiership celebrated its own judgement in putting the deal together.

Any career in mind? "Nothing yet," he answers with the kind of easy smile that Englishmen prefer to see on New Zealand faces."I'd just like to do some more study."Much more Mr Nice Guy.. THEY MAY think that it's all over, but it isn't quite. The alliance of the FA Premiership, BSkyB and BBC Sport probably went into the Restrictive Practices Court last Wednesday fearing the worst - that their current contract on football broadcasting was about to be ended with immediate effect Yet they got a result. After that it might be time to cross-credit some of those university points he's been storing up. But that will come with experience."You get the feeling, talking to Stephen Fleming, that the experience will come fast. He could have another 10 years at the top and has the ambition and the character to see New Zealand cricket scale greater heights than ever before.

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