BT win Champions League rights

[Winston Ingram]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24879138

£900m! Big blow for Sky.

[Hibbyradge]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24879138

£900m! Big blow for Sky.

It's an even bigger blow to ITV.

And it's a mini-blow to me cos I'll have to stump up the extra dosh to get BT Sport when it happens.

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/sad/shaking-head-sad-smiley-emoticon.gif (http://www.sherv.net/emoticons.html)

[greenlex]

It's an even bigger blow to ITV.

And it's a mini-blow to me cos I'll have to stump up the extra dosh to get BT Sport when it happens.

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/sad/shaking-head-sad-smiley-emoticon.gif (http://www.sherv.net/emoticons.html)
I dont know who your ISP is Dave but I switched to BT a couple of months ago. Free BT Sports on t'internet. That may of course change if they are throwing that kind of cash at it but for now its for nowt.

[Gatecrasher]

Looks like BT are serious about this rather than the previous networks that tried. I wish they gave you multiroom though rather than paying a separate amount for each tv. I'm not interested in the CL myself but that is a huge amount for TV rights.

[down-the-slope]

brilliant was hoping SKY would get one in the nads from BT....really like their production

[HIBERNIAN-0762]

It's part of my Virgin Media package, well pleased but to be really honest it's the same teams every year playing each other.

[lapsedhibee]

I dont know who your ISP is Dave but I switched to BT a couple of months ago. Free BT Sports on t'internet. That may of course change if they are throwing that kind of cash at it but for now its for nowt.

BT know how to charge for things. What is it for turning up at your house now? £120?

[TomoHFC]

It is a big blow to itv1 but its also a good thing no more Adrian Chilies

[GordonHFC]

Buy an android tv box and watch it all for **** all no matter who has the rights.

[carnoustiehibee]

Good news for me with virgin media, much prefer watching the European games at the weekend on BT sport,which hopefully continues when this deal starts.

Sky sports is only good for rugby and cricket fans. And even gold fish with altzeimers would get bored of SSN

[Aaron]

Buy an android tv box and watch it all for **** all no matter who has the rights.

How would you do that? I think BT Sports is only avail on BT, Sky & Virgin or online if you have BT. The tnly way I can think of is you use an illegal stream but that is usually poor quality, full of ads and not always guaranteed to see the games you want.

[GordonHFC]

How would you do that? I think BT Sports is only avail on BT, Sky & Virgin or online if you have BT. The tnly way I can think of is you use an illegal stream but that is usually poor quality, full of ads and not always guaranteed to see the games you want.

Got one upstairs and down. Can watch all sky sports and BT sports. Even get live premiership games at 3.00pm on a Saturday. Illegal to upload and download but not illegal to watch. Quality is not always the best but certainly watchable. Look it up :wink:

[GoldenEagle]

Brilliant, the rich get richer again and clubs such as ourselves and most others across Europe scrimp by.

[Mikey]

Brilliant, the rich get richer again and clubs such as ourselves and most others across Europe scrimp by.

Yep. It's just more money for a small number of clubs and the rest will see none of it.

[Pretty Boy]

Brilliant, the rich get richer again and clubs such as ourselves and most others across Europe scrimp by.

This.

Sooner the usual suspects set up an 'elite league' and go play each other in Dubai, Qatar and New York the better. They can leave the rest of us to get on with it.

[down-the-slope]

£854,285 - thats what I calculate each and every match will cost them...:faint:

I hope the current free with BT internet business model stands up to these additional costs...(advertising revenue is massive for these matches)

Although minnows in comparison with such a battle for rights / content we might start to get some competition for SPFL rights that will push the income there up..

[ScottB]

Yep. It's just more money for a small number of clubs and the rest will see none of it.

Isn't there a small amount that does get shared out among the league clubs? Seem to remember something about that when Celtic progressed in the tournament...

The incentive of course is for us to at least aim to get into the Europa group stages. Money will be going up there too.

[Hibbyradge]

I dont know who your ISP is Dave but I switched to BT a couple of months ago. Free BT Sports on t'internet. That may of course change if they are throwing that kind of cash at it but for now its for nowt.

I'm with virginmedia.

[ferry hibby]

Just become a Portland Timbers fan - check out BT Sport 2 just now if you can, AND they have just scored :flag:

[Craig_in_Prague]

And F1 fans - their coverage is really good :agree:

And International football, Tennis, Darts and Golf amongst others.

[allezsauzee]

BT's entry into this market is a defensive move to maintain their own customer base. The amount they have paid for the champion's league is a sign of their desperation rather than Sky being in trouble. The competition can only be good for the consumer though.

[Hiber-nation]

Hopefully they'll pinch some of Sky's commentators and analysts as BT's are in the main, dire.

[Sir David Gray]

Good news for me with virgin media, much prefer watching the European games at the weekend on BT sport,which hopefully continues when this deal starts.

Sky sports is only good for rugby and cricket fans. And even gold fish with altzeimers would get bored of SSN


And F1 fans - their coverage is really good :agree:

Their tennis coverage is fantastic.

[Hibernia&Alba]

BT's entry into this market is a defensive move to maintain their own customer base. The amount they have paid for the champion's league is a sign of their desperation rather than Sky being in trouble. The competition can only be good for the consumer though.

In the same it way it was going to be good via energy privatization? I'm sure Sky won't reduce their subscription to reflect the loss of viewing rights to BT Sport (who have already taken live Premiership rugby from Sky) but BT will certainly raise theirs. It just means that viewers who wish to watch Champions League need to take another subscription whilst free to air coverage is removed completely. If another company then comes along and takes some games, a third subscription will be needed etc.

[Eyrie]

In the same it way it was going to be good via energy privatization? I'm sure Sky won't reduce their subscription to reflect the loss of viewing rights to BT Sport (who have already taken live Premiership rugby from Sky) but BT will certainly raise theirs. It just means that viewers who wish to watch Champions League need to take another subscription whilst free to air coverage is removed completely. If another company then comes along and takes some games, a third subscription will be needed etc.

Poor comparison - we all need electricity and gas to live, but don't need to watch Champions League football as Hibs don't feature.

[Hibernia&Alba]

Poor comparison - we all need electricity and gas to live, but don't need to watch Champions League football as Hibs don't feature.

The point is a general one, Eyrie. This idea that competition is good for the public is fallacy, IMO. There's no such thing as a free market. It's a theoretical construct that doesn't occur in reality - look at the banks, the supermarkets, the energy companies and everywhere else. Competition isn't in their interests; much better for them to avoid it. So you get the big companies taking over the smaller and a constant move to oligopoly whilst giving a veneer of competition. TV Sports rights is just the same. Sky won't need to reduce their subscriptions in order to survive now they're losing some sports events.

[I'm_cabbaged]

Got one upstairs and down. Can watch all sky sports and BT sports. Even get live premiership games at 3.00pm on a Saturday. Illegal to upload and download but not illegal to watch. Quality is not always the best but certainly watchable. Look it up :wink:

Does this just pick up what I can already get on my laptop?

[Just Alf]

Does this just pick up what I can already get on my laptop?

If it's xbmc then yes and a lot more but without any ads etc.

Re the loss of free to air coverage, I noticed a message from BT saying that key games in each round as well as the finals will be free whether you're on BT or not.

[Hibercelona]

Think i'll stick to my internet streams. (In HD :wink:)

[jdships]

My internet provider is/always has been BT and I have taken their Sports package
Perfectly happy and enjoying it :thumbsup:

[NAE NOOKIE]

This.

Sooner the usual suspects set up an 'elite league' and go play each other in Dubai, Qatar and New York the better. They can leave the rest of us to get on with it.

:top marks

Bang on mate.

Fitba has turned into two levels. The European giants and the other 80% who have no chance of ever joining the party.

I may be talking ballocks here, but will it not also be the case that when UEFA's financial fair play rules come in that even if a club realises the fantasy and finds it self a billionaire it wont make a difference because it will come down to what money a club makes from ticket sales TV money and other revenue streams and that these rules wont allow the billionaire to put his hand into his pocket to buy or pay for players.

If that is the case then the big clubs with huge crowds will always be at the top with smaller or medium sized clubs or clubs from poor countries having no chance of dining at the rich mans table.

As far as I'm concerned UEFA can stick their so called Champions? League up their backside.

I will watch any fitba on the telly from the Champions League to the womens Euro championships if its there for nowt .... but pit ma hand in ma pocket ( and I can afford it ) tae make Bayern Munich, Man Utd, Chelsea, Barcelona and clubs of that ilk even richer .... ah dinnae bloody think so.

[Billy Whizz]

I've got BT broadband and Sky TV. Currently get BT sport free, but as we have multi room, we only get BT sports on one box. As an aside, does anyone know if you can add boxes for free?

[TheDude]

I'm surprised at the enthusiasm for this. BT have already said that the free BT Sport channels that their broadband and Virgin Media customers get will be reviewed because of how much they spent on CL rights.

There's not a hope in hell of the channel being free or under £15 a month come 2015.

[Hibernia&Alba]

I'm surprised at the enthusiasm for this. BT have already said that the free BT Sport channels that their broadband and Virgin Media customers get will be reviewed because of how much they spent on CL rights.

There's not a hope in hell of the channel being free or under £15 a month come 2015.

I'm sure you're absolutely right about BT's prices, and I'm also sure Sky won't reduce their subscription by the corresponding amount to reflect the loss of the rights. The net result will be viewers who want to watch the Champions League and EPL/La Liga paying more than ever before.