Prepared to pay the price for a decoder smartcard?

City analysts believe that the decision by the 20 Premier League chairmen to rebuff the BSkyB deal is a real blow to the broadcaster. It will miss out on tens of millions of pounds extra revenue that it could have earned from the deal during the next football season. BSkyB has also hoped to use pay-per-view TV to help launch its new digital television service.

Nick Batram, a football analyst with Greig Middleton, the brokers, said: "There was a danger that the football clubs would rush into pay-per-view. They could have done themselves more harm than good."

BSkyB headquarters: you don't have to pay to view it

Another City analyst said: "BSkyB has more to lose from this deal than the clubs. They wanted to use pay-per-view to sell digital set top boxes."

Pay-per-view could have increased each Premier League club's revenues by several million pounds a year. The larger and most successful clubs could have received even more. But pay-per-view has provoked a storm of protest from football fans. Some City observers believe that if the clubs had pushed ahead with plans so soon they could have risked alienating supporters.

A large part of the extra money from pay-per-view could also have gone straight into players pay packets with football agents keen to command a share of the spoils.

The decision to shun BSkyB increases the possibility that leading clubs such as Manchester United will go it alone with their own pay-per-view TV channels. They could screen Premier League matches when the existing agreement with BSkyB runs out in 2001.

Nevertheless the introduction of pay-per-view could eventually transform the finances of British football clubs.