BT to offer Premier League free to broadband customers

[21st Century Fox]

 

BT is to offer its new sports channels, offering live Premier Leaguefootball, free to customers who take its broadband service as the telecoms operator ramps up its challenge to BSkyB's dominance of UK pay-TV.

 

The company also confirmed on Thursday as it launched its sports pay-TV offering at its new broadcasting base in the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, that former BBC presenter Jake Humphrey will anchor its Premier League coverage.

 

BT, which is launching two TV channels in early August and has also bought most of ESPN UK's operation and sports rights, is aiming to lure customers to its fledgling TV service BT Vision and protect and grow its broadband customer base.

It is understood that BT is to offer the "free" channels to its broadband customers, who pay from £15 a month, regardless of whether they take their TV service from rivals including BSkyB. Non-BT customers can pay from £12 to £15 a month for the sports channels.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/may/09/bt-premier-league-broadband

[Guest BlueBrett]

That sounds amazing apart from the bit about Jake Humphrey

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

Wait, what? £15 per month, how much extra for line rental? I might have to look into this, currently just have Freeview and rely on MOTD and Talksport/net streams for specific games. Sounds like it could be a really good deal

[21st Century Fox]

That sounds amazing apart from the bit about Jake Humphrey

 

And......

 

 

Michael Owen, who is to retire at the end of the season, has been hired as a co-commentator.

Steve McManaman, Owen Hargreaves and David James will offer opinion and analysis.

 

[Guest BlueBrett]

And......

hadn't got round to reading the full article, just your extract.

 

I've watched a game with Owen commentating before and his monotone very nearly sent me to sleep.

 

 

edit: woah woah woah, Clare Balding?! FFS if you are planning to take on SKY you surely have to do better than that?

[Bellend Sebastian]

This is probably the 'unbeatable offer' that BT tried to get me to ring them up about when I told them to go and f*** themselves and moved to Plusnet last week

[21st Century Fox]

hadn't got round to reading the full article, just your extract.

 

I've watched a game with Owen commentating before and his monotone very nearly sent me to sleep.

 

 

edit: woah woah woah, Clare Balding?! FFS if you are planning to take on SKY you surely have to do better than that?

 

Thankfully Eddie Izzard Clare Balding is just hosting a sports chat show, I think.

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

This is probably the 'unbeatable offer' that BT tried to get me to ring them up about when I told them to go and f*** themselves and moved to Plusnet last week

I love how their advert says "Internet for tuppence a month! Plus £47.99 line rental"

 

And then the blokes nobhead father turns up in a mankini and says "Hello son" while he rubs his crotch, and the fat man says "I have no father" then starts playing Pussycat Dolls on the bagpipe.

[Guesty]

Does look at good deal. I've got broadband with someone else and ESPN atm. If I swap to BT I'm basically getting the sport channel which costs £10 atm for free. And now it has all the Prem Rugby, better Prem football games, Moto GP, plus a bunch of other stuff.

[kingfox]

I have Sky+ but Broadband and Phone with BT and always have.

[Jimothy]

Was listening to a guy on the radio earlier talking up the deal saying it will rival Sky Sports. His comment was people will move because you will get the same sport but won't have to fork out £50 to Sky. Bullshit. You won't get the same sport. BT have the same package ESPN have had for the last few years, you're not going to get all the football you get on Sky, or the F1, or the Tennis, or Cricket, or Rugby Union, or Rugby League, or Golf. Basically you're getting ESPN from last year minus the FA Cup coverage.

 

it's a good deal if you have BT Broadband, but I wouldn't give up Sky Sports for it. 

 

Oh and my Mum has BT Vision, so does my mate who works for BT and they both say it's terrible. 

[21st Century Fox]

Was listening to a guy on the radio earlier talking up the deal saying it will rival Sky Sports. His comment was people will move because you will get the same sport but won't have to fork out £50 to Sky. Bullshit. You won't get the same sport. BT have the same package ESPN have had for the last few years, you're not going to get all the football you get on Sky, or the F1, or the Tennis, or Cricket, or Rugby Union, or Rugby League, or Golf. Basically you're getting ESPN from last year minus the FA Cup coverage.

 

it's a good deal if you have BT Broadband, but I wouldn't give up Sky Sports for it. 

 

Oh and my Mum has BT Vision, so does my mate who works for BT and they both say it's terrible. 

 

Yeah I still can't see how they're going to realistically compete with Sky.

 

Apparently they have:

 

38 EPL matches

69 Aviva Premiership Rugby matches

25 FA Cup matches (via ESPN)

30 SPL matches + 10 Rangers matches

Up to 176 Europa League matches

Matches from Italy, Germany, France, Brazil and the U.S.

21 Women's Tennis Association Tour

Over 30 UFC events per year from August 2013 to August 2016

100 hours of Red Bull events

MotoGP

[oxford blue]

Wait, what? £15 per month, how much extra for line rental? I might have to look into this, currently just have Freeview and rely on MOTD and Talksport/net streams for specific games. Sounds like it could be a really good deal

I have BT Infinity - first time I've had a decent speed - so I guess I should benefit from this (although BT haven't contacted me about this yet which is surprising).  I have line rental through BT but I don't think this is necessary. I paid a year up front - about £125. I heard on the radio that BT are worried they're losing market share for broadband to Sky - who use sport to initially attract customers - so have felt it necessary to provide some competition in this field.