English Premier League kicks off TV rights auction

LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 12 (Reuters) - English soccer's Premier League said on Friday it had kicked off the bidding process for live domestic television rights for the three seasons from August 2016 in an auction expected to pit Sky (Other OTC: BSYBF - news) against rival BT.

Broadcasters will bid for a share of rights to 168 matches from the world's most lucrative domestic soccer competition, with no one buyer able to acquire more than 126 games.

The current three-year deal, which runs until the end of next season, went for a total of just over 3 billion pounds ($4.7 billion). Sky currently shows 116 games each season, while BT screens 38 matches after expanding its television business.

The total of 168 matches up for grabs is 14 more than under the current arrangement. They will be split into seven packages for which broadcasters can bid -- five made up of 28 matches and two packages of 14 matches. A free-to-air highlights package is also up for auction.

A source familiar with the situation told Reuters the auction process would likely be concluded in February

Last month Britain's media regulator Ofcom said it would investigate whether the way Premier League soccer match rights are sold is anti-competitive, following a complaint by pay-TV group Virgin Media.

($1 = 0.6364 pounds) (Reporting by Neil Maidment; editing by Keith Weir)