Uniteds, just like all the other top clubs, sponsorship deals are dependent on continued success. Another year of failure should see some of their deals drop by a considerable percentage (if not already after the last two seasons). They are spending money to service their sponsorship deals :)
Just signed up here (Hello again) to say I read about this the other day and it would seem that Sky bid more than they needed or can actually afford. This has lead to Sport package gong up by £1 as they don't want to alienate subscribers who could easily stream for free but more interestingly...