Leading clubs in England and Scotland are investing heavily in their own TV channels, initially as a way of raising money from fans unable to get to the grounds. For English clubs, the content on show is severely restricted by the Sky/ Premier League deal.
However, analysts predict some lifting of the regulations in 2007, which may mean greater access to live games. This would make club channels a more appealing option for fans.
In the meantime, subscribers make do with assorted highlights, player interviews and coverage of their team's overseas tours.
Manchester United's channel, MUTV, will be seven years old in September. It has about 100,000 subscribers in the UK and Ireland, each paying £6 a month to receive the channel on the Sky, NTL and Telewest Broadband platforms. Celtic TV is sold by Setanta in a £14 a month (€20 a month) Sky package that includes live coverage of all Scottish Premiership games. It costs £6.99 a month on NTL.
Glasgow Rangers's channel, Rangers TV, is sold in a similar £14 a month package. The team's fans based in Northern Ireland are targeted as subscribers. A daily news show and a phone-in are among the channel's regular programmes.
Chelsea TV costs £6 a month. It claims its subscriber base grew by 50 per cent since the Premiership title win. The channel is available to 27 million homes in 17 territories.
Liverpool.tv was launched in 2001 as an internet TV channel. It offers premium content including match highlights, player interviews and press conference coverage for £4.99 a month.
