Champions League going to BT Sport

[kano]

Good news, anything that helps break up sky's monopoly is for the best. Been robbing the nation blind for years.

This means someone can ditch Sky for BT and get decent fibre broadband, some premier league games, all the champions league games plus loads of other european leagues for about £40 per month. Already cheaper for the consumer!

 

[Ernest]

BT will be showing at least one match per team unencrypted as well as both finals free to air

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Oh ffs. Champions League is about the only football I get to see on tv. I want to swap to BT but it can't be installed in my flat so I have to stick with Virgin with my pants channels and stut-stut-stuttering Internet connection

BT Sport free with Virgin, at least it is with the package I just signed up for...

 

[trueblue]

Good news, anything that helps break up sky's monopoly is for the best. Been robbing the nation blind for years.

This means someone can ditch Sky for BT and get decent fibre broadband, some premier league games, all the champions league games plus loads of other european leagues for about £40 per month. Already cheaper for the consumer!

You really think BT's pricing will stay the same as it is at the moment? I very much doubt it. Can only see fans losing out overall as, assuming the Premier League stays with Sky, people that want access to everything will have to pay for both. I'll take the free-to-air games with a pinch of salt… clearly they've been told that the Final has to be available to everyone but beyond that, who knows? At a guess, there may be the odd 'big' game free-to-air but from a business point of view, surely that would be something like a knockout stage 1st leg game, with the 2nd leg only available to subscribers. They're not going to pay a billion pounds and then throw away the most attractive games for nothing. In that sense, giving away the Final is not an issue because, more often than not, it will be two foreign clubs anyway.

Someone mentioned the Football League being foolish for rushing into its current rights deal. From what I've heard though, they were just happy to get a deal at all. As far as I know, the BBC pays nothing any more (other than the costs of producing a highlights show). In the grand scheme of things, it seems football outside of the Premier League has very little value to TV companies - if it doesn't increase subscriber numbers, there's no interest. Not a criticism as such, just a fact.

 

[Colossal Squid]

Fair play to BT for making a go of things and it is great to see the Sky monopoly being challenged.

Taking ITV out of the mix is also most welcome.

Is it me or does Sky seem to have lost a bit of its growl and bite since the Murdochs were up in court over the phone hacking scandal and associated fall out?

It's fairly well known that if Sky hadn't won the original Premiership football right deal back in the early 90s it would have folded. I just wonder whether the sports side of things is still propping the rest of it up. Obviously plenty of people are Sky subscribers without the sports channels BUT do they make them enough money? I'm a Sky subscriber (through necessity more than anything else) and I only pay £13 a month whereas those with the full sports package are paying upwards of £40 a month and that's a big difference. If they haven't got enough sports to justify people paying the high premium for Sky Sports then they're going to lose a lot of subscribers very quickly.

I grabbed the BT Sport channels when my broadband came up for renewal and have been quite pleased with the arrangement thus far, however it strikes me as unlikely that this deal will continue long term as it only specifies you get the channels free for a year, not for as long as you're a broadband customer. With more enticing showings available are BT going to suddenly jack up the price, hoping that their existing customers will already be hooked and won't want to lose it?

 

[Questions]

Christ on a bike, why cant people read the full story ?
.

So the BBC get the Capital cup then, and ESPN get what ?

 

[bha100]

Like i have said before if i was a bt shareholder i would be very worried, this is going to end in tears.

 

[Questions]

Fair play to BT for making a go of things and it is great to see the Sky monopoly being challenged.

Taking ITV out of the mix is also most welcome.

Is it me or does Sky seem to have lost a bit of its growl and bite since the Murdochs were up in court over the phone hacking scandal and associated fall out?

It's fairly well known that if Sky hadn't won the original Premiership football right deal back in the early 90s it would have folded. I just wonder whether the sports side of things is still propping the rest of it up. Obviously plenty of people are Sky subscribers without the sports channels BUT do they make them enough money? I'm a Sky subscriber (through necessity more than anything else) and I only pay £13 a month whereas those with the full sports package are paying upwards of £40 a month and that's a big difference. If they haven't got enough sports to justify people paying the high premium for Sky Sports then they're going to lose a lot of subscribers very quickly.

I grabbed the BT Sport channels when my broadband came up for renewal and have been quite pleased with the arrangement thus far, however it strikes me as unlikely that this deal will continue long term as it only specifies you get the channels free for a year, not for as long as you're a broadband customer. With more enticing showings available are BT going to suddenly jack up the price, hoping that their existing customers will already be hooked and won't want to lose it?

We'll all have to be careful of this Bt deal as if you fail to opt out before your contract is up you'll be tied in to another deal for a year but this time I suspect they will be - like you state - charging you a hefty subscription. Put the dates on your calendar.

 

[virtual22]

I think this is great news. $ky have had it their own way for way too long.

I think (I may be wrong) that you can buy the BT sport package for around £12 a month if you don't have broadband with them but you also are not forced into buying a load of other crap channels you don't want. Again, I am not totally up to date with Sky's packages but I think it's around £43.00 a month if you just want sports (cos you have to buy all the crap that goes with it). I am fully aware that the coverage is different but looks like BT are closing the gap pretty fast. When you take out the football, sky have a hell of a lot of padding in their schedules, fully appreciate some people want to watch fishing and NASCAR etc.

And for any BT broadband customers, like me, we get it for free anyway and watch it on our old sky box. I can't get Virgin so had infinity even before they announced the first BT sport deal. I'm no lover of BT but their service if you're not in a cable area is pretty compelling.

This is a market that needed competition really badly and finally we are starting to get choices. I hope they really go for the championship next as well.

 

[Wozza]

You really think BT's pricing will stay the same as it is at the moment? I very much doubt it. Can only see fans losing out overall as, assuming the Premier League stays with Sky, people that want access to everything will have to pay for both. I'll take the free-to-air games with a pinch of salt… clearly they've been told that the Final has to be available to everyone but beyond that, who knows? At a guess, there may be the odd 'big' game free-to-air but from a business point of view, surely that would be something like a knockout stage 1st leg game, with the 2nd leg only available to subscribers. They're not going to pay a billion pounds and then throw away the most attractive games for nothing. In that sense, giving away the Final is not an issue because, more often than not, it will be two foreign clubs anyway.

Lots of wrong in this.

Firstly, BT had said that every British team will be shown FTA at least once a season.

Also, BT *does* have a incentive to show some big games FTA - it's a huge advert for their subs channels AND they rake in massive ad revenue (as ITV are currently) which will help cover some of the cost.

But, yes, some knock-out matches might well have a FTA leg and a subscription leg... but they do currently.

 

[Wozza]

Monumental cock up for Sky. They were obsessed with the Champions League and will be huge dent in the armoury. There is no chance of BTSport getting the ratings ITV does when they show a free game so its a big middle finger from UEFA to the British public as well.

BT Sport is available on a LOT of platforms inc YouView, Virgin, Sky on TV plus online and mobile... so FTA ratings will do ok I'm sure.

 

[El Presidente]

Monumental cock up for Sky. They were obsessed with the Champions League and will be huge dent in the armoury. There is no chance of BTSport getting the ratings ITV does when they show a free game so its a big middle finger from UEFA to the British public as well.

Is that middle finger any bigger than the one the Premier League gave to the British public when they signed up for Sky in the first place?

 

[Rookie]

Is that middle finger any bigger than the one the Premier League gave to the British public when they signed up for Sky in the first place?

Yep pretty much the same one. There should be a free to air game on the Beeb or ITV as part of any deal IMO

 

[Badger]

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. We get to lose Andy Townsend and inherit Michael Owen!!

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

Michael Owen is INFINITELY better than Andy Townsend. I was a bit sceptical myself when I heard Owen was getting the BT Sport gig but he has surprised me, he knows what he is talking about and seems to have a good grasp of the English language. Townsend, on the other hand, is someone I want to punch repeatedly within 10 seconds of hearing him speak.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Not to casual football fans its not. ITV coverage as bad as it was/is still got huge ratings anything on a digital only platform will never get the same ratings and/or the exposure.

I don't really understand this. All platforms are digital these days.

 

[RM-Taylor]

BT Sport will be charged at approx £30 a month on both Sky and VM. This "free" with BT broadband and being heavily discounted on VM is for one year only. Two fingers up to the viewing public who end up having to pay more

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

There are no winners here , incumbent monopoly v new kid on the block monopoly.

 

[Official Old Man]

It has to be said that no one shows football like Sky, whether you like them or not. At the moment ITV will show the game that most viewers will want, inevitably Man Utd. Wife is not a fan of football but we sat and enjoyed the coverage on Wednesday of the Celtic game with the goal alert turned on showing all goals as they happened.

 

[portslade seagull]

About time there was some competition against Sky

 

[trueblue]

Lots of wrong in this.

Firstly, BT had said that every British team will be shown FTA at least once a season.

Also, BT *does* have a incentive to show some big games FTA - it's a huge advert for their subs channels AND they rake in massive ad revenue (as ITV are currently) which will help cover some of the cost.

But, yes, some knock-out matches might well have a FTA leg and a subscription leg... but they do currently.

So one weak group stage game per British team. That's all they have to do to honour the commitment.