BT extends free TV sports offering

BT has announced that it will be making BT Sport free for another season for both new and re-contracting broadband customers.

Approximately five million homes receive BT Sport and it is estimated that three million subscribing homes take the service directly from BT – via satellite, BT TV or the BT Sport app – while the remainder receive the service via wholesale deals struck by BT. Of the three million customers, 25% have signed up since the channel first went live nine months ago.

BT Sport’s debut season included the Barclays Premier League and FA Cup, Moto GP races and NBA Basketball, and 2015 will see the broadcaster show all live matches from the Champions League and Europa League live, after winning the exclusive rights from Sky and ITV in a deal worth almost £1 billion.

BT has also announced that its set-top box service, BT TV, has passed the one million milestone.

“The great news for fans is that BT Sport will remain free with BT Broadband for another season, during which we will broadcast live action from the new European rugby tournaments,” said John Petter, chief executive of BT Consumer.

“There has never been a better time to switch to BT Broadband so I would encourage sports fans to sign up.”