Champions League going to BT Sport

[16bha]

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. We get to lose Andy Townsend and inherit Michael Owen!!

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

 

[willyfantastic]

disgrace

 

[pasty]

No great loss to terrestrial tv as far as I'm concerned. Have so little interest in CL.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

Does this mean sky are losing their rights to it as well?

They cover the CL so well. I watched Juve vs Real the other night and it was brilliant coverage.

Itv losing it doesn't bother me although it's a shame if terrestrial tv no longer has and CL matches.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

£900m for three years. Meanwhile, much of the less developed nations still have great swathes of children playing with balls made of plastic bags.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Oh ffs. Champions League is about the only football I get to see on tv. I want to swap to BT but it can't be installed in my flat so I have to stick with Virgin with my pants channels and stut-stut-stuttering Internet connection

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Christ on a bike, why cant people read the full story ?

Games will still be free-to-air like ITV - and seeing as everyone has digital TV now, they will be able to access it. Its the same Sky/ITV deal - just on 1 channel.

I for one am delighted - ITV have always been the worst for football coverage - now they just need to lose the England rights and they have nothing left !! (BBC got the FA Cup rights).

 

[trueblue]

According to the original article, UEFA stipulate that some of the matches must still be free to air.

I think it'd be interesting to see how popular the CL is in this country without the effectively free advertising/hype it gets from ITV, I wonder if most people wouldn't be bothered until the quarter finals.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Does this mean sky are losing their rights to it as well?

They cover the CL so well. I watched Juve vs Real the other night and it was brilliant coverage.

Itv losing it doesn't bother me although it's a shame if terrestrial tv no longer has and CL matches.

As I understand it, it's just moving from ITV to BT, no change for Sky, but I could be wrong.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

£900m for three years. Meanwhile, much of the less developed nations still have great swathes of children playing with balls made of plastic bags.

It really does make you want to vomit, doesn't it?

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

According to the original article, UEFA stipulate that some of the matches must still be free to air.

I think it'd be interesting to see how popular the CL is in this country without the effectively free advertising/hype it gets from ITV, I wonder if most people wouldn't be bothered until the quarter finals.

ITV wont miss out, they will just advertise on ITV - paying handsomely of course.

 

[Wozza]

As I understand it, it's just moving from ITV to BT, no change for Sky, but I could be wrong.

You are wrong.

BT will have all the live matches on subscription and FTA channels. None on Sky.

 

[yxee]

Michael Owen commentating on the Championship

 

[Rookie]

Monumental cock up for Sky. They were obsessed with the Champions League and will be huge dent in the armoury. There is no chance of BTSport getting the ratings ITV does when they show a free game so its a big middle finger from UEFA to the British public as well.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Monumental cock up for Sky. They were obsessed with the Champions League and will be huge dent in the armoury. There is no chance of BTSport getting the ratings ITV does when they show a free game so its a big middle finger from UEFA to the British public as well.

Of course they wont get the same viewing figures, but its all down to money. Surprising the Sky didnt bid enough to get the rights too.

Not really UEFA showing a middle finger to the public - BT are to show the big(ish) games free (Arsenal vs Dortmund etc). Thought it is shite that there is no choice of viewing anymore as I always went for Skys coverage. But to further remove football from ITV - that is a good thing.

 

[somerset]

This is starting to pisss me off.....Prem footy, prem rugby, now cl games, what next, I feel a call to sky coming on....may need a reduction in my monthly bill....

 

[Vegas Seagull]

I have all channels so it doesn't bother me BUT what does amaze me is why, a couple of months ago, with moneybags BT on the warpath did the Football League rush into an extended deal way out to 2018!! without any sign of auction/discussions with BT and/or others

 

[Rookie]

Of course they wont get the same viewing figures, but its all down to money. Surprising the Sky didnt bid enough to get the rights too.

Not really UEFA showing a middle finger to the public - BT are to show the big(ish) games free (Arsenal vs Dortmund etc). Thought it is shite that there is no choice of viewing anymore as I always went for Skys coverage. But to further remove football from ITV - that is a good thing.

Not to casual football fans its not. ITV coverage as bad as it was/is still got huge ratings anything on a digital only platform will never get the same ratings and/or the exposure. UEFA have clearly gone for money (which will result in players being paid even more) rather than making top football available to the most amount of people. Having said that I'm not particularly fussed because I hardly watch Champions League anyway

 

[crasher]

I'd say it's good news in part because it's a proper challenger to Sky at last. But it's bad news in the sense that whoever wins the rights just pours more money into the pockets of the elite clubs, constantly making football less competitive.

 

[Ernest]

Can you imagine how much the next Premiership rights are going to go for ? SKY will bid anything to ensure they don't lose the Prem as well, if we think it is a good time now to be in the Prem it's going to be even more so in a couple of years time when the rights come up again