There was never any real risk of a serious challenger emerging, and, sure enough, News Corp’s BskyB has retained the bulk of the UK’s top live football coverage in the first round of bidding for the Premiership’s 2010-13 seasons. Although no official announcement has been made, the Times newspaper, also owned by News Corp, would be expected to be accurate in its report that the bid will not have been less than the previous £1.3bn. So while everyone else is cutting back on spending and trying to reduce debt (except for governments it seems), the nation’s top footballers can relax safe in the knowledge that another three years of six figure weekly salaries will continue uninterrupted courtesy of Sky’s desire to maintain its pay TV leadership. Sky is taking the risk that the UK’s football lovers will continue to fork out £30-40 a month for the privilege of seeing live football. It’s worked for the past 17 years, and in spite of the deep recession it seems a safe bet for many more to come. Twitter: www.twitter.com/dmercer15