Champions League: BT Sport wins

By Rappy
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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.

 

"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 around ?7m and ?396,000 for every match played in the group stages. The winners get more than ?30m in total.

 

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

"We are new to the market. The key for us is growing our broadband business. We are available on all platforms. If customers do not want to be BT broadband customers, they can pay for the service as well," Patterson told BBC News.

 

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

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