BT Sport wins 20 more Premier League matches
June 7, 2018
BT Sport has won the rights to a further 20 Premier League football matches in the UK, taking the total to 52, for three years from the start of the 2019/20 season. These games add to the 32 Saturday matches which BT Sport won earlier this year, and were part of two, unsold secondary packages when the successful bids were announced. Streaming giant Amazon Prime secured the other. The 20 additional matches will cost £90 million (€102.21m), bringing the total cost for 52 games to £975 million over three years.
BT Sport will, for the first time, show multiple mid-week Premier League matches on the same evening, something that BT Sport has proven a success on UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League nights. The telco says it has remained financially disciplined during this process and remains in a strong position to make a return on investment through subscription, wholesale, commercial and advertising revenues. BT will seek to take advantage of its integration with EE, which has more than doubled BT Sports’ reach.
BT recently agreed a multi-year deal to offer Sky’s NOW TV service, which includes Sky Sports, from early 2019.
Andy Haworth, managing director for content and strategy for BT’s Consumer division said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer our customers even more Premier League matches and to create exciting mid-week nights of top flight Premier League football action. The fantastic sport our customers can view continues to grow. Today’s Premier League announcement, and the recent deal with NOW TV, means BT TV customers will have access to all of the best exclusively live sporting action in the UK. We look forward to continuing as a partner of the Premier League and showcasing the most exciting league in the world.”
Premier League Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore said, “BT Sport is an excellent partner for the Premier League and has an established track record of showcasing the League and the clubs with innovative and engaging content. We are very pleased they will continue to broadcast the competition in the UK and Ireland.”
“We are extremely pleased that Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon have invested in these rights and all view the Premier League and our clubs as vital parts of their live sports offerings. Sky and BT are established Premier League partners and provide first-rate coverage of the competition through their live-match broadcasts and comprehensive programming. We welcome Amazon as an exciting new partner and we know Prime Video will provide an excellent service on which fans can consume the Premier League.”
“The interest in our UK rights is testament to the fantastic competition delivered by our clubs. This outcome will support their continued efforts to put on the best possible football and use their popularity and reach to have a positive impact on the sport and beyond.”