UPDATE: BT Group Secures Sports Deal With BSkyB

28th Jun 2010 14:31

(Adds BSkyB details) By Lilly Vitorovich Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) said Monday it has struck a deal with British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSY.LN) that will allow the U.K. telecommunications group to show Premier League soccer matches on its pay-television service from August. Now that BT has secured the wholesale supply of Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 after a long and protracted battle, BT customers will be able to sign up for the subscription channels from early July. BT Vision customers will be able to view Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 from August 1, ahead of the U.K. Premier League soccer season, which kicks off on August 14. BT said in a brief statement that it will disclose its pricing shortly. "We are delighted to have reached this milestone, which means that we can be certain of offering Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 to our customers before the football season kicks off. We know our customers will be keen to sign up for the two channels," said Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT Retail. The contract follows a ruling by Ofcom in March that BSkyB must supply its sports channels to rivals at a wholesale price set by Ofcom. BSkyB challenged the ruling and agreed a deal with Ofcom two months ago, whereby the wholesale pricing structure will initially apply only to BT Vision, Virgin Media Inc. (VMED) and Top-UP TV. Under the deal, the three parties would pay Ofcom's regulated price for Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2, or both channels. Until the outcome of BSkyB's appeal, the difference between this price and the prevailing rate card price that Sky charges will be paid into escrow. The rate card price for Sky Sports 1 or 2 individually is GBP13.88 per subscriber a month, while both together cost GBP19.15 a month. At the conclusion of a full appeal by BSkyB, the Competition Appeal Tribunal will determine the distribution of the money held in escrow. In a separate statement, BSkyB announced Monday that subscribers to its Sky Sports pack will be given "bonus access" from July 12 until the end of the year to both Sky mobile TV and its online TV service Sky Player. Sky subscribers will be able to watch coverage of live televised Premier League, Scottish Premier League and Coca Cola Football League games, as well as live coverage of cricket, golf, rugby and other sports online or on mobile devices. There will also be live breaking news from Sky news. At 1318 GMT, BT shares were steady at 131 pence, while BSkyB shares were up 0.6% at 705 pence in a flat London market. News Corp., which owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire and The Wall Street Journal, holds about a 39% stake in BSkyB. -By Lilly Vitorovich, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-0-207 842 9290; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 28, 2010 09:31 ET (13:31 GMT)