±±¾©Èü³µpk10

The bidding war is expected to attract offers of as much as £450m for the rights to air three years of European football from the start of the 2009/2010 season.

Champions League games are currently aired by Sky and ITV, which are obliged to carry ads from all six sponsors for free at the beginning and end of each break, worth between £5m and £10m in total each year.

The BBC is clearly prepared to outbid its commercial rivals, a move that has drawn criticism from commercial TV companies, arguing that it is a waste of licence payers' money.

The BBC is not allowed to carry advertising as part of its licence fee agreement and so might have to pay extra for the rights to mitigate the loss of advertising exposure for the brands. Alternatively, it may have to ensure that advertisers' logos are displayed more prominently.

Uefa, European football's governing body and the organiser of the Champions League, could rake in about £150m a year for the forthcoming three-year package.

After receiving yesterday's bids, Uefa is expected to take until the autumn to announce how the remainder of the auction process will be conducted.

Virgin Media has ruled itself out of the running, as it concentrates on investing money in its broadband offering.

The BBC is under pressure to revive its ailing sports coverage as it faces life without any live top-flight football coverage. The BBC lost the rights to England internationals and the FA Cup in a fierce bidding war with ITV and Setanta, with the competitions being shared by the broadcasters from next season.

The move leaves the BBC's expensive line-up of pundits, who include Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer among them, with only its football highlights package show, 'Match of the Day', to present.

ITV is reported to have paid £42m a year and Sky £47m for the current Champions League rights, which can earn broadcasters big audiences for mid-week matches involving English clubs.

Earlier this month, ITV1's live coverage of Manchester United's Champions League match against Lyon netted 5.1m viewers on March 4, according to unofficial viewing figures.