Advanced Television

Jake Humphrey to join UEFA Champions League team on BT Sport

June 2, 2015

BT Sport has agreed a new four-year deal with Jake Humphrey that will see the popular football anchor continue to host the channel’s Premier League and FA Cup coverage and extend his role to include presenting exclusively live UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League games.
Humphrey, 36, has been a major success hosting BT Sport’s exclusively live Barclays Premier League football matches for the past two seasons. He will continue to host the Premier League under the new contract.

The former BBC Formula 1 presenter joined BT in January 2013 and became one of the founding faces of BT Sport, along with Clare Balding, Lawrence Dallaglio and Rio Ferdinand.

Humphrey was keen to enlarge his role to include presenting the next exciting stage of BT Sport’s development as the new home of exclusively live UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for three seasons from the start of the 2015/16 competition.

For the first time, a single UK broadcaster has the rights to all the 350 live matches from both tournaments. BT Sport will be the only place to watch the very best European teams compete in the leading tournaments.

 Grant Best, executive director of programming and creative, said: “It is going to be a hugely exciting time for BT Sport as we become the only place to watch exclusively live UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.

“Jake has been a big hit with our viewers for his assured and confident style in presenting our Barclays Premier League matches. His role is expanding and I know he’ll bring the same quality and professionalism to our coverage of the best club competition in the world.”

Humphrey said: “I have loved being involved at BT Sport from the very beginning. The last two years have been some of the most enjoyable of my career and on the way we’ve had some cracking games, part of the reason we’ve taken the channels from zero to over five million subscribers in the process.

“The next stage is even more exciting as we become the only place to watch live UEFA Champions League. Fulfilling a childhood dream to present the Barclays Premier League has been an incredible adventure, and to be able to present big European matches from the world’s most iconic stadiums will be another challenge I can’t wait to take on.”
     Jake, who also presented European Championship football from Poland and Ukraine in 2012 during his time with the BBC, will be free to double up on presenting duties for BT Sport, as the channels’ Barclays Premier League matches will remain mainly on Saturdays for the next four seasons, while European matches are played on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

 

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