BT to offer FA Premier League matches on-demand

May 25th, 2006 - BT has won the rights to carry 242 FA Premier League football matches per season as on-demand assets on its forthcoming BT Vision DSL VOD/DTT broadcast IPTV service. The three-year deal covers the 2007-8, 2008-9 and 2009-10 seasons. BT has acquired the rights in a joint bid with BSkyB but the games will not normally be available until 10pm - seven hours after a typical Saturday game kicks-off live. Fans will be able to then view the match for up to 50 hours afterwards.

The deal means UK consumers will be able  to watch full Premiership matches on a pay-per-view basis on television and without the need for an upfront Pay TV subscription. Pay-per-view, rather than subscription, is at the heart of the BT Vision philosophy as the telco seeks to attract customers from the millions of UK homes that have still to adopt either Pay TV or, indeed, digital TV.