BT is kicking off against Sky Sports by offering BT Sports channels — including Premier League and European football — for free with a broadband package.
If you order your Internet from BT, you can watch high definition BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN for free on your TV, smart phone or tablet, and online. A new app will bring the new channels to your phone or tablet.
From August, HD will cost an extra £3 per month on top of your BT broadband bill.
BT has the rights to show 38 live Barclays Premier League matches, including 18 ‘top pick’ matches. If that’s not enough footie for you, you can also watch games from the Scottish Premier League, the FA Cup, UEFA Europa League, the German Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A, the French Ligue 1, and USA’s MLS.
The presenting teams include Jake Humphrey, Clare Balding and former Tranmere Rovers leg end Ray Stubbs, as well as Martina Navratilova and Lawrence Dallaglio.
Other talent includes footballers Rio Ferdinand, David James, Owen Hargreaves, Steve McManaman, and Michael Owen — once memorably described by Noel Gallagher as being like a “trainee policeman” — as well as former Soccer AM irritant Tim Lovejoy.
If you prefer your balls pointier at the end, BT also promises up to 69 live Aviva Premiership rugby matches, live MotoGP racing, and women’s tennis and football.
You can watch the free sport channels on your TV even if you get Sky TV separate from your BT broadband. If you’re not a BT broadband customer, you can watch the BT Sport channels on Sky for £12 per month or £15 for HD.
Are BT striking a blow against Sky’s sporting stranglehold? Will you be signing up? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook wall.