Stadt Posted 9 November 2013 Posted 9 November 2013 People complain of Sky monopolising football, however 'affordable' BT say it is they will be able to charge what they want.
davieG Posted 9 November 2013 Author Posted 9 November 2013 Champions League: BT Sport win £897m football rights deal 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 all 350 matches each season from 2015 after talks with European governing body Uefa. A BT spokesman said it had "shaken up the UK TV market" and would make some games, including finals, free to air. The news is a major blow to Sky and ITV, who currently share the rights. While BT said it was the first time a single UK broadcaster had won the exclusive live rights to all matches from the two tournaments, Sky said the deal was "far in excess" of its own valuation. BT Sport deal highlights Three-year deal costing £897m All 350 matches in the Champions League and Europa League broadcast live each season from 2015 First time a single UK broadcaster has won the exclusive live rights Champions League final will be shown for free from 2015 At least one match involving each participating British team for free every season "I am thrilled that BT Sport will be the only place where fans can enjoy all the live action from the Champions League and Europa League," said BT chief executive Gavin Patterson. The contract, priced at £299m a season, is worth more than double the current arrangement, which could mean significantly more money for clubs in the two European competitions. Each of the 32 teams in the group phase of the Champions League currently receive a participation payment of £2.8m and £396,000 for every match played thereafter in the group stages. This can grow to £6.5m for the winners, while the runners-up receive £3.73m. As part of the deal, BT has said it will show at least one match involving each participating British team for free every season. John Petter, boss of the company's consumer division, told BBC Radio 5 live the new deal would mean customers having to pay for some of the matches. "These games are going to need to be chargeable, that's true. But they'll be far more affordable than today's competition," he said. "So today, to get the whole competition, you typically have to pay Sky £40 or so a month. The pricing is not being announced today, but I can say that this will be far more affordable than currently." Dan RoanBBC chief sports correspondent "This is a staggering statement of intent from BT, changing the landscape of sports broadcasting and sending shock waves throughout British football. "Having already secured 38 Premier League games a season, BT has now taken its offering to a whole new level by going all out to land exclusive live rights to the most coveted tournament in club football. "BT must now hope these prized rights will significantly increase its subscribers and encourage more customers to buy broadband, phone and television services from them. "Uefa and the clubs will be delighted at the increase in television revenue, but both viewers and sponsors will be concerned that, for the first time since it began, live Champions League games will not be shown on terrestrial TV. "BT has agreed to show some games free to air, but this will be of little comfort to many fans. The deal represents arguably the biggest defeat Sky has suffered since it began sports broadcasting, and is further proof that its latest rival presents a much sterner challenge than predecessors Setanta or ESPN ever did. "It is also grave news for ITV which had already lost the FA Cup rights and must now hope it can cling on to the Champions League and Europa League highlights." However, Sky indicated its rival had paid much more than it was prepared to offer. "We bid with a clear view of what the rights are worth to us. It seems BT chose to pay far in excess of our valuation," read a statement from Sky. "There are many ways in which we can invest in our service for customers. We take a disciplined approach and there is always a level at which we will choose to focus on something else. If we thought it was worth more, we'd have paid more. "Nothing changes until 2015 and we look forward to 18 more months of live Champions League on Sky Sports. We will now re-deploy resources and continue to bring customers the best choice of TV across our offering." BT launched its UK sports channels on 1 August 2013 in a challenge to the dominance of sports coverage on Sky. 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.
ousefox Posted 9 November 2013 Posted 9 November 2013 Well that's shit. Less Andy Townsend though so swings and roundabouts.
separator Posted 9 November 2013 Posted 9 November 2013 I've got BT broadband and get the sport channels free but I guess its only a matter of time before they start charging for them.
21st Century Fox Posted 9 November 2013 Posted 9 November 2013 Well done UEFA, narrow the viewership of your flagship competition even further. All for the good of the game of course. Even though I have BT Sport (because it free... for now) this is quite frankly disgusting. If they let James Richardson present the coverage instead of Jake Humphreys. I'll be slightly more forgiving.
Soar Fox Posted 9 November 2013 Posted 9 November 2013 I won't be watching any champions league football for 3 years. BT sport is awful, terrible pundits, rubbish commentary and the presenter is a cvnt. People moan about sky but it's far more enjoyable to watch than BT.
kingfox Posted 9 November 2013 Posted 9 November 2013 Hopefully McManaman, James & Owen are sacked by then.
Jimothy Posted 9 November 2013 Posted 9 November 2013 I've got BT broadband and get the sport channels free but I guess its only a matter of time before they start charging for them. Just said on the radio they will be charging.
AKCJ Posted 9 November 2013 Posted 9 November 2013 So they've had 900m burning a hole in their pocket but they decide to hire Owen, McManaman and David James as their pundits. Shocking channel tbh.
The Year Of The Fox Posted 10 November 2013 Posted 10 November 2013 Couldn't give a stuff aboit the champions league anyway
Leicesterpool Posted 10 November 2013 Posted 10 November 2013 I won't be watching any champions league football for 3 years. BT sport is awful, terrible pundits, rubbish commentary and the presenter is a cvnt. People moan about sky but it's far more enjoyable to watch than BT. I agree BT Sport's coverage is pure amateur, I've found Sky Sports recent coverage just as poor at times.
Mack Posted 10 November 2013 Posted 10 November 2013 I would doubt BT Sport will even exist come 2015, so no need to panic.
Unabomber Posted 10 November 2013 Posted 10 November 2013 I wish these tinpot channels like BT Sport, ESPN, Setanta etc would just **** off and leave the big boy shit to sky.
The Year Of The Fox Posted 10 November 2013 Posted 10 November 2013 I wish these tinpot channels like BT Sport, ESPN, Setanta etc would just **** off and leave the big boy shit to sky.Or even better- The BBC
Miquel The Work Geordie Posted 10 November 2013 Posted 10 November 2013 Seems to me like a panicked move from BT...
Unabomber Posted 10 November 2013 Posted 10 November 2013 Or even better- The BBC Yeah I don't mind BBC, it was much better when they had the FA Cup and showed more England games.
The Year Of The Fox Posted 10 November 2013 Posted 10 November 2013 We all know Skys money has ruined the game. I'd love for it go back to how it was before.
Jimothy Posted 10 November 2013 Posted 10 November 2013 If we have to pay for football coverage, I'd rather it be on one pay channel not numerous. I get what they were trying to do be allowing competition but I think if Sky/BT or whoever is going to have the majority of games, then the rest ( the ones on BT this year) should be on terrestrial, not another subscription service. Sky almost certainly won't drop prices and BT will almost certainly raise theirs, so we end up with a situation where to watch the same amount of football you have to pay probably twice as much, how is that fair on the customer?
davieG Posted 10 November 2013 Author Posted 10 November 2013 If we have to pay for football coverage, I'd rather it be on one pay channel not numerous. I get what they were trying to do be allowing competition but I think if Sky/BT or whoever is going to have the majority of games, then the rest ( the ones on BT this year) should be on terrestrial, not another subscription service. Sky almost certainly won't drop prices and BT will almost certainly raise theirs, so we end up with a situation where to watch the same amount of football you have to pay probably twice as much, how is that fair on the customer? You can blame that on the EU, they believe this way offers more choice for the customer. Another organisation that completely misunderstands football and that in spite clubs seemingly seen as businesses this is not the case for fans (customers). It's the same as when clubs argue that their ticket prices are comparable with x, y and clubs.
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