Ofcom is to canvas the views of thousands of football fans as it probes a complaint by Virgin Media about the way £1.7 billion-a-year Premier League football rights are sold to broadcasters . Armchair supporters and regular match-goers are to be asked for their views as part of the regulator 's inquiry . Ofcom also said it would be looking at changes in the prices charged by broadcasters for sports channels . BT Sport share the rights with Sky to broadcast Premier League football throughout the season . The regulator is in the midst of an investigation after Virgin argued that the English top flight screened fewer live matches than other top European leagues , contributing to higher prices for pay-TV packages . In an update published on Monday , it said that its probe continued to progress with no decisions reached at this stage and that it was reviewing consumer research it had recently received from Virgin Media . It added : 'Ofcom will also carry out new consumer research , which will canvas views of fans who attend matches and those who watch them on TV . Thierry Henry ( left ) and Jamie Carragher are part of the star-studded team Sky Sports employ as pundits . 'It will look at the value viewers place on watching the Premier League . We will also be monitoring changes in retail prices of sports channels as the investigation progresses . ' The fans ' research will build on views already sought from football bodies , clubs , fans ' groups , broadcasters and policing organisations . Virgin had argued that the latest Premier League rights auction should be suspended as Ofcom probed the process , but the regulator declined and allowed the sale to go ahead last month . Virgin Media are unhappy with the way the Premier League sell their rights for such a huge price . It resulted in Sky and BT paying a combined £5.14 billion to screen top-flight games for the 2016-2019 seasons , a 70 per cent increase on the current deal . Ofcom said prior to the auction that there was no 'urgent need ' to delay it and that it was carrying out its probe 'expeditiously ' given that the auctioned matches will start to be broadcast from August 2016 . It said it had the power necessary to alter broadcasting arrangements before this time , should its probe find there had been an infringement of competition rules .
Premier broadcasters continue to have the chance to give their views on the way broadcast rights are sold to TV companies like Sky Sports and BT . Virgin Media launched a complaint over the issues they are dealt with . sky and BT paid a combined £ 5.14billion to screen top - flight matches . Click here for all the latest Premier League news .