ESPN Pays Out for Tv Rights and a Lot More

ESPN yesterday committed to a £513m investment in the Champions Twenty20 League in a deal that would seem to shatter all precedent for cricket broadcasting. But there was more to the agreement than meets the eye.

The deal matches ESPN's $1bn contract with the International Cricket Council to cover all its tournaments including premium offerings such as the World Cup, the T20 World Cup and Test matches. As such ESPN would seem to be staking a massive gamble on attracting viewers to what are only 222 matches over 10 years involving regional teams. But the Asian television giant has got a whole lot more for its money. According to documents seen by this column, ESPN Star will effectively now run the tournament's commercial interests.

The Champions T20 League's three shareholder nations - India, South Africa and Australia - have signed away to ESPN their rights not only to broadcasting but a host of other potentially lucrative properties. ESPN now has the opportunity to recover its investment not only through advertising revenue but also through the sale of sponsorship and merchandising.

The tournament owners have also handed over the rights to hospitality and gate revenue, an arrangement that could deter grounds from hosting it. Lord's, a mooted venue for future competitions, pulled in £3.6m in gate receipts for its 2005 Ashes Test but that would all have to be handed over to ESPN under yesterday's deal.Sky cracks down on pubs

Sky enforcers made themselves felt on Wednesday night in an attempt to catch publicans showing Setanta's broadcast of England's 4-1 destruction of Croatia without subscribing to Sky's £13,000-a-year commercial-premises package. Several landlords thought they could cut ties to Sky - and save thousands - after the Football Association sold rights to England matches to Setanta. But in a statement confirmed by Setanta, a Sky spokesman said: "Setanta makes available its channels to pubs via a distribution agreement with Sky." Pubs showing Setanta matches without the required £13,000-a-year Sky contract "face criminal action for breach of copyright". Meanwhile, the FA will convene Setanta and the terrestrial broadcasters in coming days to try to ensure highlights of England's next match - in Belarus on October 15 - on free television. The FA praised Setanta's decision to show highlights of the Croatia game on Freeview, but the news came too late for many in the 21m homes with the technology to take advantage.Everton silence fans

As the culture secretary, Andy Burnham, pictured, accuses football of alienating fans, his own beloved Everton appear to have done exactly that. Faced with intense opposition to a proposed move to a new stadium in Kirkby, the club were forced to hold an extraordinary general meeting by a fans' petition. The fans were entitled to the EGM after moving a resolution signed by 75% of the total number of shareholders. But, having got the EGM out of the way, Everton have now closed down the route for fans' protests. Under a changed constitution, EGMs can now only be called if the proponents have signatures from those whose shareholdings make up 10% of the total capital of the club - a proportion almost impossible for grass-roots fans to muster. "If we were to be repeatedly found washing our dirty laundry in public, the damage to the club's reputation would be simply enormous," said Everton's acting chief executive, Robert Elstone.

No gambling on the cards

Matthew Etherington's gambling addiction has led West Ham to make £300,000 in loans to cover some of the £800,000 he owes a violent foreign bookmaker. And in 2006, the dressing room was gripped by a gambling epidemic. Now the Icelandic owners have shipped out Etherington's former card-school partners and the club hopes Gianfranco Zola's continental-style twice-daily training regime will mean players have less time to idle away.