Typical virgin......................only free for xl customers
BT has struck a deal with Virgin Media to make its new sports channels available to the cable operator's subscribers.
The three-year agreement will see customers with Virgin's most expensive package getting access to BT's three sports channels for free.
Those on cheaper deals can pay extra to receive them.
The deal will mean Virgin Media can now supply sports channels from both BT and its rival BSkyB.
It is a step forward for Virgin Media in the continuing battle with its larger competitor.
Last year, the firm launched an internet TV service that streams programmes to computers, tablets and smartphones, in a challenge to BSkyB's rapidly growing Sky Go service.
Thursday's tie-up is also seen as a boost for BT, which will gain more viewers and be able to charge extra for advertising.
Triple-play tussle
The telecoms giant launched its UK sports channels in August, in a challenge to the two-decades-long sports-TV dominance of Sky.
Sky has already seen off ITV Digital, Setanta and ESPN, which all temporarily entered the pay-TV football market.
Two weeks after the launch, BT said one million households had signed up to the new channels since it started taking orders in May.
This compares with BSkyB, which has a total of 10.4m TV subscribers, although not all those take sports channels.
BT surprised the market when it agreed to pay £246m per season to show 38 live football matches. BSkyB has the rights to 116 games per season.
Media analyst Steve Hewlett said the underlying battle between BT and Sky was for supremacy in the triple-play market - the bundling of television, telephone and broadband.
He said the launch of the new sports channels was to prevent BT losing its broadband customers to Sky.
Comments
100 more channels
BT Sport & ESPN included in that
BT and Virgin customers both get the channel for free, while sky customers need to pay £12... Contract up in November, so unless they carry on my half price deal, I might have to switch again.
I don't pay any more for XL, as I threatened to go to Sky & they upgraded me to XL for nowt to keep me.
Not that I was really going :-)
Game on!
BT Sport now playing on Virgin TV
BT Sport 1 (CH 547) and BT Sport 1 HD (CH 549), BT Sport 2 (CH 548) and BT Sport 2 HD (CH 550), ESPN (CH 529) and ESPN HD (CH 530)
It’s the biggest signing of the summer – BT Sport is now available on Virgin TV. And the best news is that as an XL customer you will get this brilliant addition to your package at no extra cost! You’ll get three channels – BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN – bringing you the best in sporting action. And you’ll get all three channels in crystal-clear HD too.
BT Sport will bring you expert analysis from Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen, Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson and Martina Navratilova plus a formidable line-up of presenters including Jake Humphrey, Clare Balding and Craig Doyle.
And in a real game-changer BT Sport, will show 38 live Barclays Premier League matches during the season – including 18 of the top picks – starting with the opening fixture Liverpool vs Stoke City.
“The title race is going to be really interesting this year,” says Stoke’s Peter Crouch, Virgin Media’s football ambassador. “Chelsea are going to be a lot stronger than they were last year with Jose Mourinho in charge. Manchester City will always be there or thereabouts, and you can’t write off Manchester United – especially with a manager like David Moyes taking over. It’s a great time to be a football fan.”
Footie lovers will also be able to see up to 25 live matches from the FA Cup with Budweiser. Plus games from the Europa League, Scottish Premier League and Italian, German, French, US, Australian and Brazilian league matches too.
And rugby fans will also be celebrating. BT is the sole and exclusive broadcaster of this season’s Aviva Premiership, showing 69 matches. Plus there’s women’s tennis, Ultimate Fighting Championship, MotoGP, women’s football. If you love sport, you’ll love BT Sport.
Latest BT results showed very low take-up for BT's pay TV service, this is a hedging move by them and spreads risk and cost.
Sky might just sit tight and see what happens, there is no need for them to react just yet.
Also, Sky will want to see what happens when BT try and run their live football over the Infinity network when there are lots of viewers watching, other telcos have had problems doing this on copper networks and have had the network crash at very bad times.
http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/record-fine-180000-epl-disruption-mio-tv-20130214
Crucial times ahead for BT.
Also, Sky will want to see what happens when BT try and run their live football over the Infinity network when there are lots of viewers watching, other telcos have had problems doing this on copper networks and have had the network crash at very bad times.
Good point Ormiston but the BT Sport load will be spread over Sky and Virgin platforms as well so won't all be delivered via Broadband. I would have thought BT's App platform might be at iggest risk but this is working surprisingly well at the moment if you have tried it. BT Sport have just passed the 1 million take-up number but I am not sure the spilt has yet been publicised. Saturday will be a good test with Liverpool v Stoke and Aberdeen v Celtic running concurrently.
I threatened to leave for Sky (genuinely) a couple of years ago and they offered me a better box and a significantly cheaper price. It was one of those 'I have got to check with my superviser conversations' - I said if I put the phone down without a deal, my next call was going to be with Sky to install their box. Of course I still had the option of ringing them back.
A good tip is to ring Sky - they will offer a cheaper price and you can quote that price and what you get to virgin.
They told me I was being put on a special loyal customer plan, which is a funny phrase as the loyal customer is the one who pays more than me and doesn't threaten to leave surely !!!!