Football and broadcasting are literally merging

It's one of those situations where everyone seems to have become an expert. In this case it's football media rights, telecoms, and EU law all at once. And the context being pub football renders the issue more appetizing - apologies for the bad pun.

A lot has (already) been written and said about the Murphy case. I had made a mental note of the 4th October and looked forward to the Preliminary Ruling. And yet, after a couple of super busy days I already find myself commenting on reactions, rather than the ruling itself (something I hope to be able to do anyway soon). 

Most of us have an eager sense of anticipation to see how the 'post-Murphy' scenario will unfold. Out of these, I can see one which could literally merge football with broadcasting, namely that   of having a Premier League TV network, and eventually similar endeavours by the Lega Calcio, the Bundesliga, and so on. I see few other ways to maximize the benefits (read profits) of a single market of half a billion Europeans. UEFA's Champions League model is the best example.

It's not as easy as it sounds. And it may not be the best of news for the proverbial good of the game. Such a model could prove successful for the big leagues but the situation in the smaller or even the micro leagues (like Malta) could be way more complicated. Then again, it could be an opportunity for development. Not necessarily at the same speed and through the same model, but as basis economics the bigger the market the bigger the potential a product has to grow.

My take is that the ruling was a much-needed pronouncement. In one way or another the grey area had to be addressed for a myriad of reasons.