Menu
Download the app

SBJ subscribers – Enhance your experience with the revamped iOS app

Media

BT Signs Up More Than 500,000 To New TV Sports Channels

More than 500,000 U.K. households have signed up for the new TV sports channels offered by BT, the telecom group that has "spent heavily on the rights to show top football matches in a bid to take on British Sky Broadcasting," according to Adam Jones of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Announcing first-quarter profits "that beat expectations," BT said it was “very pleased” with the number of customers who had signed up for the channels, which are "free to those who already pay for its broadband internet services." BT CEO Ian Livingston said it was still “early days” for BT Sport, which launches on Aug. 1. Livingston: "It’s a very encouraging start" (FT, 7/25).

NOT AS IT SEEMS: In London, Mark Sweney reported the company admitted this is "mostly" existing customers who have taken the channels for free as part of renewing their BT broadband contracts. The majority "are also taking BT Sport via satellite, so do not count as standalone subscribers to the company's pay-TV service." The company "will be concerned" that the rate of growth of new pay-TV subscribers is down by almost 43% -- "it signed up 40,000 subscribers in the previous quarter" -- despite running "a star-studded multimillion-pound ad campaign to entice new customers to its TV service" (GUARDIAN, 7/25). Also in London, Chris Johnston reported the launch of BT Sport next week "is intended to boost customer loyalty and the amount they will spend, while reducing the number of subscribers who opt to take broadband and telephony from Sky." Market research group CCS Insight's Paolo Pescatore said, "BT has made a great start with BT Sport and BSkyB should take note. Half a million customers in the last couple of months is an impressive feat -- more so given that the service is not commercially available yet. This take-up underlines the key battle for broadband customers in the U.K. What BT must now focus on is luring users from its rivals" (LONDON TIMES, 7/25).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2013/07/26/Media/BT-Sport.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2013/07/26/Media/BT-Sport.aspx

CLOSE