Yahoo! to offer Premier League highlights

Yahoo! has agreed a deal with the Premier League for online highlights from all matches for the next three seasons.

Starting in August, the search engine will be able to offer five-minute highlights packages from every game on its main website, and will syndicate clips to third-parties.

The highlights will be made available from midnight on Sunday after weekend games and midnight the same day for mid-week ties.

Current rights owner Virgin Media is thought to have also bid for the highlights, but lost out to Yahoo!'s larger offer.

"The acquisition of Premier League rights shows how serious Yahoo! is about providing the best in video content for our both our users and advertisers," said Yahoo!'s European managing director Rich Riley.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore added: "The way fans access Barclays Premier League action is growing ever more diverse and sophisticated. The online highlights package is an important medium for supporters of all our clubs to be able to follow match action."

Enders analyst Ian Maude said that the deal is a "great coup" for the search engine firm, but he is surprised that YouTube did not compete in the bidding. The Google-owned website recently offered live coverage in the UK from all 60 games in the third Indian Premier League without charge.

Speaking to The Guardian, Maude said: "I'm amazed Google hasn't done the deal. They have pushed hard for traditional [TV] rights and signed up Channel 4 and Five and the Indian Premier League. They are clearly trying to make YouTube more than skateboarding dogs.

"This seems a great coup for Yahoo!, although whether the deal works depends on what they paid compared to how they can monetise it. Online sports advertising is pretty significant in the US, albeit tiny compared to TV advertising, and the Premier League is probably the only sport likely to attract a big audience."

Earlier in the month, ESPN agreed a deal for mobile highlights from all Premier League games, starting from next season.