BT Sport signs up 10,000 pubs and clubs

BT Sport has announced that more than 10,000 pubs, clubs, betting shops, hotels and other commercial premises have signed up to its TV packages.

The news comes after the telecoms giant announced earlier this week that it now had more than one million subscribers for its new sports channels, although the bulk of these are existing BT customers rather than new subscribers.

BT managed to sign up only 23,000 new TV subscribers in the three months to the end of June, compared with 40,000 in the first quarter, meaning it has yet to make a real dent in the Pay-TV market. However, undercutting Sky in the lucrative pubs market, which is worth between £200 and £300 million each year, could help BT make real inroads as seeks a return on its £1 billion investment.

“Signing up more than 10,000 commercial customers before a ball is kicked in the Premier League is a fantastic achievement,” said Bruce Cuthbert, director of commercial customers, BT Sport.

“BT Sport is an affordable and exciting new service for pubs, clubs and their customers. Interest has been phenomenal and underlines the value, quality and broad appeal that we offer. We are particularly delighted that this includes brand new commercial customers for premium sports who have historically been unable to afford Sky’s high prices.”

BT Sport is available to all commercial premises from £75 per month, and whilst commercial Sky subscriptions vary, they can run into thousands of pounds each month, with some pubs reportedly paying up to £40,000 per year.

According to research carried out by BT nearly half of Britain’s 75,000 pubs and clubs are showing free-to-air sport only – almost one and a half times more than those who have Sky.