BT will "take on Sky at its own game" of TV subscriptions next week when it unveils how much it will charge customers to watch European football matches, according to Thomas & Mance of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Britain's biggest telecom group, which has so far "bundled football games free with high-speed broadband packages, is expected to charge existing customers" about £5 ($7.64) a month to watch the Champions League. The company is "seeking new revenues to cover the vast cost it paid to air Champions League and Europa League football." It outbid Sky and ITV in '13, agreeing to put up £897M over three years, part of an "ambitious strategy to expand its consumer business." Analysts said that there are likely to be "considerable pre-match nerves at BT, which has so far had only limited success selling TV packages." Although the Champions League is Europe’s "most prestigious" club competition, audience figures have declined in recent years, largely because English teams such as Chelsea and ManU have "struggled to make it far in the competition." Enders Analysis Analyst Toby Syfret said that BT’s football subscription package is "going to be a fairly unique thing." The good news for BT is that other "pay-light" subscriptions are "increasingly popular." At a launch event on Tuesday, BT will "confirm that its own Premier League games will remain free for at least a year for existing broadband customers." Analysts at RBC Capital said that £5 a month -- alongside advertising revenues, and subscriptions from pubs and clubs -- "could be enough to cover BT's costs in acquiring the Champions League rights" and producing the programs (FT, 6/5).
