BT lands first Premier League live rights
BT will broadcast its own live Premier League football coverage for the first time after winning the rights to 38 games per season from 2013-14 to 2015-16.
The telecoms giant will pay £246 million for the A and G packages of live rights, which include the opening game of the season and a total of 18 first picks.
Its haul of matches represents one-quarter of the 154 games that will be broadcast live each season, with Sky securing the remaining 116 fixtures per year.
BT has effectively replaced US-based broadcaster ESPN, which will lose the rights to screen any live games once its current deal runs out at the end of 2012-13.
A new football-focused channel will be launched by BT to carry its live football, with the company promising to introduce "new interactive features" when delivered via its fibre optic broadband network.
The communications provider is also looking to distribute the new service to other platforms, with full details and pricing set to be published in due course.
Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT, said: "We are pleased to have won these rights. We look forward to offering football fans real value and great quality using the latest technology."
