BT Sport Free for Millions of Homes

BT today promised to return sport to grassroots fans as it revealed BT Sport will be free to any consumer BT broadband customer. This is the first time in more than 20 years that weekly live matches from the Barclays Premier League will be free to watch.

The three channels – BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN - will be packed with world class sport. There will be 38 live and exclusive football matches from the Barclays Premier League – including 18 ‘first pick’ matches - and up to 69 live rugby matches from the Aviva Premiership where BT will be the sole and exclusive broadcaster. There will be live football from several other top leagues around the world including Germany, France, Italy and Brazil. There will also be FA Cup ties, the UEFA Europa League, Scottish Premier League plus WTA women’s tennis and action from the UFC.

BT today revealed it has added Moto GP, Women’s Super League football, Australian ‘A’ league soccer and action sport and lifestyle programming from Red Bull Media House. Further commentators and pundits were also announced to boost those already in place (see accompanying release).

BT’s aim is to increase the number of customers enjoying high quality sports on TV. Only one in five UK homes currently take a sports channel, possibly due to the high prices that have resulted from there being little real competition.

By offering BT Sport for free with BT broadband, BT hopes to appeal to the vast majority of UK homes - more than 20 million - who already have broadband as well as those who haven’t taken it to date. More than five million homes already take their broadband from BT and whilst the company will be rewarding those loyal customers with this great free service, it will also be encouraging customers of other ISPs to switch supplier.

To encourage people to switch, BT is offering new customers BT Infinity, its flagship superfast fibre product, from just £15 per month or copper broadband from just £10.

Switching will be quick and easy. Most customers will only need to make one call to BT as it will then arrange the switch on their behalf. If customers wish to take the channels without BT broadband, they will be available in high definition for £15 per month from BT via Sky’s digital satellite platform or for £12 in standard definition.

Ian Livingston, BT chief executive said: "UK Sports fans have had a rough deal for too long. Many have been priced out of the market but we will change this by giving away BT Sport for free with our broadband. Sports fans are the winners today.

BT is the home of broadband so the fight for customers will now take place on our own turf. BT Sport will complement our world class fibre network. Customers don’t have to take BT Infinity to get BT Sport but we are encouraging them to move onto fibre broadband so they can enjoy the best of both worlds.

Gavin Patterson, BT Retail chief executive added:

The launch of BT Sport is an important moment for the UK TV market. We will shake up the market which is great news for sports fans whether their passion is football, rugby or any of the other sports we will be showing. Fans will hopefully be cheering across the UK at the prospect of watching their favourite teams for free.

BT Sport will be easily accessible direct from BT. It will be available via BT's own TV service, Sky’s digital satellite platform and also online or via a new App enabling customers to enjoy the channels on the move or at home on their PCs, smartphones, tablets etc.

Customers who wish to watch BT Sport on their TVs will require a set top box. This will be a YouView or Vision+ box for BT TV customers or a Sky box if customers take the channels via Sky’s digital satellite platform.

BT's TV service will be delivered live over fibre broadband with those customers having the option of receiving the channels in HD for just £3 per month, a cost that will be waived for a year if they sign up before August 1. BT Sport will also be available across the UK via TV aerials to customers with a Vision+ box . BT TV customers who take a basic TV package from BT will receive their set top box for free.

Customers taking BT Sport via Sky’s digital satellite platform will be able to access the three channels with just one call to BT, making it very convenient for customers who want to take sports content from both BT and Sky. There will be no requirement for customers to take a Sky TV subscription of any kind as BT Sport will be retailed by BT.

Satellite customers who take BT broadband will get BT Sport for free, whilst those who don’t can still get the service from BT in high definition for £15 per month or in standard definition for £12. BT will make it clear to those customers they can save substantial sums by switching their broadband back to BT. Satellite customers who sign up before August 1 2013 will see the £3 per month supplement for HD waived for a year.

Interested customers can order BT Sport from May 10 by calling 0800 400 440 or they can register their interest from noon today at www.btsport.com.

BT Sport is an exciting new Sports channel from BT. In the Republic of Ireland, there are a number of platforms for Pay TV, including Sky and UPC. The BT Sport team is in discussions with a number of companies to make BT Sport available on these platforms and are confident that BT Sport will be available in the Republic of Ireland before soccer season begins. More details will be released soon.