BT renews Champions League, Europa League rights deal for £1.18BN
Details
Editor
| 06 March 2017

Despite some disquiet over viewing figures for the élite European club football tournaments, BT Sport has reinvested in gaining exclusive UK rights to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for three more years.

BT will pay around £394 million each season in the three-year renewal deal which will commence from 2018/19 and will for the first time bring together exclusivity across all live games, highlights and in-match clips of both competitions.

Following the acquisition of EE last year, which more than doubled BT’s marketable customer base, BT says that it is now in a strong position to monetise the investment through subscription, wholesale, commercial and advertising revenues.

BT is looking to tap into a change in the format of the champions League when, by that time, there will be a minimum of four participating teams now guaranteed from each of England, Spain, Germany and Italy, resulting in more games between the top European teams. Fans will also be able to enjoy UEFA Champions League ‘double header’ nights, as live matches will kick off at both 6pm and 8pm during the Group Stage.

Games will be made available in 4K/Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos sound, and via the BT Sport App. Clips, weekly highlights, UEFA’s magazine show and both finals will also be available for free on social media. BT streamed both finals last year on YouTube for the first time, taking the number of people who watched BT’s live coverage of the finals to more than 12 million.

“UEFA is delighted to have extended the relationship with BT Sport for a further three seasons, taking our partnership to 2021,” remarked Guy Laurent Epstein, UEFA marketing director. “BT Sport has proved to be an innovative broadcast partner, pushing the boundaries and covering the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League in new ways. BT has delivered strong audiences in the UK and we are excited about their future plans for the use of social media which will engage a growing fan base that consumes sport in different ways.”