Sports On Telly

News and updates on UK sports rights broadcasting deals and fixture scheduling.

TV

BT TV adds Sky Sports HD to channel line-up

-

bt_youview_hubBT’s million-plus TV customers can now watch the entire Premier League in HD after the firm added Sky Sports 1 HD and Sky Sports 2 HD to its channel line-up.

Last year the broadband giant won the right to show its rival’s channels on its YouView platform but until today has only offered the Standard Definition (SD) versions.

This meant that football fans could only enjoy Premier League games shown on BT’s own sports channels in HD, making the platform less attractive to sports fans keen to enjoy matches in the best possible picture quality.

BT’s TV packages start from £0pm which includes its exclusive AMC channel and BT Sport although customers wanting to watch popular pay channels including Fox, SyFy and Universal need a package costing £10pm.

The firm also offers a Ultra High Definition version of BT Sport, the UK’s first UHD channel, in a bundle costing £15pm.

Sky Sports 1 HD and Sky Sports 2 HD are available as add-ons with each of these packages and costs £21.50 for one channel and £27.00 for both.

Sky Sports customers to gain free Sun Goals access

-

Sky_logo_900Sky has agreed a tie-up with the Sun newspaper which will give Sky Sports subscribers access to the paper’s popular Sun Goals service.

The deal means Sky Sports customers will be able to watch goals and match clips from the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Barclays Premier League, Emirates FA Cup and Scottish Premiership on their phone or tablet.

Sky’s Director of Content Marketing, Robert Tansey said: “With the beginning of the season upon us this is a great addition for Sky Sports customers to have even more goals at their fingertips.

“Sky offers so many ways to watch across TV, online and mobile, and Sun Goals will add even more fantastic content for our customers from the Barclays Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and much more at no extra cost.”

David Dinsmore, Editor of The Sun, added: “This is a fantastic partnership that will give Sky customers access not only to goals and highlights, but also The Sun’s world-class football journalism. We are delighted to be able to introduce The Sun’s football coverage to a wider audience.”

Virgin Media’s XL TV customers get BT Sport Europe AND £3 per month price hike

-

bt_sport_europe_750Virgin Media is to offer BT’s new European sports channel as part of its ‘XL’ top-tier TV channel pack.

Last month the broadband and pay-TV rivals announced that they’s struck a wholesale deal which would see the channel, which from this year becomes the exclusive home of Champions and Europa leagues, added to Virgin Media’s platform but failed to announce how much customers would pay.

Although the two firms already had a deal for the original BT Sport 1 & 2 and ESPN channels, BT’s Jamie Hindhaugh previously confirmed to SEENIT that the agreement didn’t cover BT Sport Europe and that they were in talks about the new channel.

Virgin has offered the BT Sport 1 & 2 and ESPN channels as part of its XL TV package since their launch and viewers will now get the complete pack after the two firms agreed terms.

However the price of the XL pack will rise by £3 which Virgin claimed was “a result of the charges we have to pay BT to add BT Sport Europe to our BT Sport pack.” Customers will also get Nat Geo Wild HD and Lifestyle HD added to their channel line-up.

Gregor McNeil, Managing Director of Virgin Media Consumer, said: “Some of our prices are changing so we can continue to offer our customers the best choice of entertainment.

“The new Champions League deal is the biggest ever and our price change reflects our continued investment in giving our customers more of what they want – we are proud to remain the only provider to offer all the major sporting action in one place.”

Eurosport snaps up Olympics rights in pan-Europe deal

-

David Zaslav and IOC President Thomas Bach. Credit: IOC Christophe Moratal
Discovery’s David Zaslav and IOC President Thomas Bach. Credit: IOC Christophe Moratal
Discovery Communications, parent company of pan-European sports channel Eurosport, has snapped up rights to all Olympic Games hosted between 2018–2024 in a continent-wide deal.

The firm signed a EUR 1.3 billion deal to secure rights in all European countries other than Russia. In the UK and France where rights to the 2018 and 2020 Games have already been awarded the deal covers only the 2022-2024 events.

Today’s announcement means the BBC will cease to be the Games’ broadcaster in the UK from 2022.

Although Eurosport is a subscription channel, Discovery has committed to making a “minimum of 200 hours of the Olympic Games” and 100 hours of Olympic Winter Games available on free-to-air (FTA) television in all territories.

In the UK the entire Winter and Summer games are required to be shown FTA under broadcasting rules.

In some countries it will also sub-license a portion of its rights to other broadcasters.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “This is a significant agreement for Discovery and the IOC, and we are excited to have Eurosport, the pan-European home of Olympic sports, as a partner.

“This agreement ensures comprehensive coverage of the Olympic Games across Europe, including the guarantee to provide extensive free-to-air television coverage in all territories.”

Discovery Communications President and CEO David Zaslav added: “The long-term programming commitment with President Bach and the IOC reaffirms Eurosport’s position as the leader in sports across Europe, and will significantly enhance Eurosport’s presence on all platforms.

“With Eurosport’s proud and long-standing tradition of broadcasting many winter and summer sports showcased during the Olympics, adding the Olympic Games, the greatest live event in the world, is a perfect editorial and strategic fit.

“But most of all, this new partnership is an exciting win for European sports fans as we will deliver record amounts of content across platforms to ensure the Olympic flame burns bright all year long.”

BT Sport Europe heading to Virgin Media

-

bt_sport_europeVirgin Media has signed a deal to add BT Sport Europe to its channel line-up after weeks of talks with channel owner BT.

When it launches this summer, BT Sport Europe will be be the exclusive home of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

Virgin already has a wholesale deal for the original BT Sport 1 & 2 and ESPN channels which it provides to customers taking its XL TV pack. Customers with lower tier packages can pay for the channels as a separate add-on.

However BT’s Jamie Hindhaugh previously confirmed to SEENIT that the current agreement didn’t cover BT Sport Europe and that the two pay TV and broadband rivals were in talks about adding it to the Virgin platform,

Neither BT nor Virgin Media have revealed how much Virgin are paying to add the channel to its line-up. Virgin says details of how BT Sport Europe will be incorporated into its channel packages “will be announced soon.”

Tom Mockridge, Virgin Media Chief Executive, said: “If the football is on, we’ll be showing it. Virgin Media is still the only provider that offers you front row access to all the live sporting action at home and on the go.”