Champions League: BT Sport win £897m football rights deal

[ian1964 10,720]

BT Sport has announced an exclusive £897m three-year deal which will end two decades of live Champions League football on terrestrial TV.

 

The broadcaster has won the rights to show Champions League and Europa League matches from 2015 after talks with European governing body Uefa.

 

A spokesman said it had "shaken up the UK TV market" and would make the final and selected matches free to air.

 

The news is a major blow to Sky and ITV, who currently share the rights.

 

The contract is worth more than double the current arrangement, which could mean significantly more money for clubs in the two European competitions.

Last five Champions League winners

 

2013 - Bayern Munich

2012 - Chelsea

2011 - Barcelona

2010 - Inter Milan

2009 - Barcelona

 

As part of the deal, BT has said it will show at least one match involving each participating British team for free every season.

 

BT launched its UK sports channels on 1 August 2013 in a challenge to the dominance of sports coverage on Sky.

 

Sky has previously fended off competition from other broadcasters, such as ITV Digital, Setanta and ESPN, after they all entered the pay-TV football market.

 

BT has already spent £738m over three years for the rights to show 38 live Premier League matches for the 2012-13 season, while Sky paid £2.3bn for 116 matches a season.

 

Other events in the BT portfolio include the rights to Premiership Rugby and motorsports such as Moto GP and Nascar, as well as taking over ESPN's UK sports channels.

 

Only last week, it said more than two million people had subscribed to its television sports channels since August and reported six month pre-tax profits of £948 million.

 

For its part, Sky announced in October that record numbers had tuned into the start of the football season - with an average audience of 1.55m compared with 1.29m last year.

 

News of the deal first emerged in Saturday's edition of the Telegraph newspaper, and was confirmed on Twitter by BT Sport at 10:00 GMT.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24879138

[simplythebest 0]

Massive blow to Sky

[RANGERRAB 3,613]

I think the question now is how BT Sport be able to fund this

[The Real PapaBear 0]

I think the question now is how BT Sport be able to fund this

 

In large part through my bloody phone and broadband bill

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

Probably helps that their customer services is all out sourced to India and utterly incompetent and paid pennies

[blueflag 386]

Massive blow to Sky

 

I dont think sky are loosing all there games.

Itv are

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

I dont think sky are loosing all there games.

Itv are

They are....

[blueflag 386]

They are....

 

Dear doctor

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

If your point is that SKY aren't losing all their general football while ITV are, then you are wrong as ITV still have international games.