BT Sport "has named Sunset+Vine as the production company" for its showcase of 38 live Premier League games that start next season, according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. This follows a second tender after BT’s original preferred production partner ITV Sport’s London studios were not "considered a spacious or exclusive enough location to present the matches which have cost BT £738M ($1.2B) to acquire." The choice of Sunset+Vine "will go a great way to compensate for the company missing out to IMG Media for the Channel Four racing contract" for which it had been strong favorites. Sunset+Vine "will also produce BT’s live rugby union Aviva Premiership package of 69 games per season and other sports programming" (DAILY MAIL, 12/19). In London, Mark Sweney reported "finalising the production contract, which will see Jake Humphrey front broadcasts from the Int'l Broadcast Centre in the Olympic Park in Stratford, London, is a critical step in BT's plan to challenge BSkyB's dominance of U.K. pay-TV sport." The contract "is thought to be worth between £100M ($162.7M) and £132M ($214.7M) over three years." BT said that "it intends to work with other production company partners across other sports programming deals it seals before the launch of two pay-TV channels next summer" (GUARDIAN, 12/19).
