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July 19, 2016
New and existing pay monthly customers will get six months of free access to BT Sport app
EE customers will get six months access to BT Sport as part of the first joint offer from the two telecoms firms since they merged in January.
New and existing pay monthly customers will be able to use the BT Sport app, which includes BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport Europe and ESPN on BT Sport, as part of the offer. This means customers can watch every UEFA Champions League and Europa League game, 42 Premier League games, the European Rugby Champions Cup and more.
In January, BT bought EE in a £12.5 billion deal, but pledged to keep the brand. This is the first product crossover the two telecoms firm’s have announced.
EE CEO Marc Allera said: “Our customers have been telling us for a long time that they are watching more and more sport on the go, and this summer’s European Championship football tournament has driven traffic peaks that we’ve never seen before.
“Now, as part of BT Group, we are able to offer customers the chance to watch the very best in live domestic and European sport when out and about. With our ambition to reach 95 per cent of the geography of the UK by 2020, EE customers will be able to watch Premier League football while on Hackney Marshes, or the America’s Cup in the middle of Lake Windermere.”
Bacon and Rio
EE will also launch a new “multimillion pound” advertising campaign to promote the offer, which will feature EE regular Kevin Bacon, as well as football stars including former England international Rio Ferdinand, new Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, and fellow BT Sport pundit Harry Redknapp.
The BT Sport app will initially be available to EE customers on a pay monthly handset, tablet or SIM-only plans, through iOS, Android and Windows. Once the initial free six months end, it will costs £5 per month as a 30 day rolling add-on.
CCS Insight director of multiplay and media Paolo Pescatore said: “This is a huge deal for both companies but especially for BT. First and foremost, we are seeing the first fruits of EE leveraging BT’s content asset and as a result of this, we fully expect to see a return of the BT brand on the high street with EE promoting BT Sport in store. The deal strengthens EE’s mobile offerings in light of rivals especially Vodafone who has been promoting content as part of its 4G tariffs.
“Fundamentally, we cannot underline the importance of this deal as BT Sport continues to grow from strength to strength. Within months of launching BT Sport added millions and now three years on, its potential audience will grow to more than 15 million. This is a significant achievement within a short period of time.
“Timing could not be any better in light of the new Premier League season and we are expecting a busy second half of the year with Sky’s entry to mobile, Vodafone into TV and Virgin Media’s new set-top-box. Let battle commence, but Sky’s close relationship with content and rights owners still puts it in a far stronger position over its competitors.”