Live Champions League football "could remain on terrestrial television next season after BT Sport opened talks with ITV" over sharing some of the 350 UEFA games it acquired for a record-breaking £897M last year, according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. Discussions "have taken place between the broadcasters that may result in BT subletting a certain number of Champions League and Europa League matches it holds the exclusive rights to from 2015." Such a move "would be welcomed by millions of armchair fans who are not
customers of Sky or BT and who reacted with dismay to the prospect of a
competition widely regarded as being the best in club football being lost to
terrestrial television."
ITV and BT "refused to comment last night on the precise nature of the contact
between them or the reasons why the latter might contemplate relinquishing
its exclusivity on rights for which it paid more than double the value of
the previous contract."
The £897M price tag "may itself be the reason, the media giant admitting
last year it would be forced to charge a subscription for its Champions
League coverage." There would "appear to be a business case," therefore, for attempting to
monetize those games by selling them to ITV, "which in turn would incur a
saving on BT’s own in-house production costs" (TELEGRAPH, 9/30).
