Fairer play for sports fans; Barclays premier league action from just £4 a month; BT Vision to offer hundreds of Premier League matches; Sports fans to be offered the country’s most inclusive pricing

The cost of watching Barclays Premier League football on television took a dive today as BT launched its BT Vision Sport service. This service allows fans to catch-up with more matches in full than any other service and for just £4 a month. Fans will be able to choose from Premier League matches just hours after the action – at a time of their choosing – and they can combine the service with a package of live English and Scottish matches from Setanta Sports for only £12 a month.

BT Vision Sport is ideal for fans who have BT Total Broadband but who are unwilling, or unable, to pay high TV sports subscriptions. BT’s “near live” service includes 242 Premier League matches per season and – through a new deal announced today – up to 125 Coca Cola League and Carling Cup games. Fans can also access Setanta Sports’ live action which includes 46 Premier League matches from England and 60 from Scotland (including all the old firm derbies) as well as action from other European football leagues, US PGA tour golf, Nascar and Magners League rugby. BT Vision also offers a library of classic sporting action and documentaries available on demand and supplied by sporting giants ESPN and IMG.

BT Vision Sport offers the most inclusive approach to pricing in the market with prices to suit every budget. Fans can pay £1.99 to watch one of the 242 near-live matches – the first time full Barclays Premier League matches have been available without a TV subscription – or they can choose a subscription which includes all the near-live action for £4 a month. Fans who want Setanta’s live action in addition to BT’s 242 near live matches can get this through the £12 “Total” package which delivers 75 per cent of all Barclays Premier League matches in full.

BT is launching a multi-million pound marketing campaign to support the launch, which kicks off this weekend. This will include national TV and press advertising leading with the messages that “Premier League football is now at grass roots prices” and “Football now comes without the lengthy contract talks”.

Ian Livingston, BT Retail CEO said: “This is a great day for sports fans. Fans can now follow their team for less than a pound a week. Why pay sky-high prices now there’s an alternative?”

Dan Marks, BT Vision CEO, said: “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. Highlights on Match of The Day are fine but many fans want more, particularly those who follow teams that aren’t often featured live. BT’s unique mix of live and on demand sport means there is something for everyone, at prices people can afford and on the terms they choose.”

The pricing options are shown in more detail below. BT Vision can be ordered at www.bt.com/btvision or at 0800 917 7610. BT Vision – which also offers flexible pricing for a great range of on-demand and subscription movies, television, music, and children’s entertainment – aims to have 2-3 million customers in the medium term. BT Broadband is the nation’s favourite broadband service with more than 3.6 million customers.