Will British Telecom’s new broadband Sport service undercut subscription TV?

BT (British Telecom) Vision launched its broadband Sport service today (July 16), with an unstructured and low pricing policy that could further undermine the subscription TV in the UK. Viewers will have access to 242 English Premier League matches a season, watching games at 10pm on the evening of the match day at 1.99 per view or 4 a month.

This compares to Sky’s lowest cost package of 15 a month and 9.99 a month for Setanta Sports’ offering, which from August includes 75 percent of English Premiership games.

In a further blow to Sky, BT Vision users can have live streaming of English and Scottish Premier League games through Setanta for 12 a month, in addition to the near-live coverage of the Premiership and 125 Coca Cola League and Carling Cup matches, plus the Irish broadcaster’s other sports, including racing and Gaelic games.

The chief executive of BT Vision, Dan Marks, commented, “We’re a sports-loving nation and ordinary fans shouldn’t be priced out of the action. Millions of fans have resisted subscription services to date and so we feel there’s a substantial gap in the market.”