Sky and BT buy up Premier League TV rights for over £3bn

Sky has bought five of the seven available packages for the seasons 2013-14 to 2015-16, totalling 116 matches per year.

BT has acquired the rights for 32 matches that season but its package includes 18 of the 38 first-choice picks.

The Premier League has secured a remarkable 70 per cent increase worth £1.25bn on its current deal, which is shared between Sky and US-based broadcaster ESPN, which took over when Irish broadcaster Setanta collapsed.

It is the first time BT has won rights for football and sees the end of ESPN’s involvement after next season.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore revealed the thrilling climax to the recent season, when Manchester City won the title in injury time on the last day, contributed to the increase.

“We have just come off the back of a fantastic season and it has been good for us,” he said.

“We went to the market at the right time. It was a very competitive process which if you are selling is a very good thing.”

The total number of 154 live matches to be broadcast is 16 more than at present and will mean more than 40 per cent of matches will be live on television for the first time.

BT will launch a new football-focused channel to carry its matches although it has yet to reveal the cost of the package which it says will include new interactive features when broadcast over its network.

It will broadcast the first match of the season but most of its fixtures will be played on Saturday lunchtimes.

Chief executive Ian Livingston said: “We are pleased to have won these rights and to have secured around half of the best games on offer each season. We look forward to offering football fans real value and great quality using the latest technology.”

Sky, which has broadcast the league since its launch in 1992, said it would cover every club at least four times each season.

Jeremy Darroch, Sky’s chief executive, said: “This is a good result for our customers and for our business.

“It means that Sky Sports remains the home of Premier League football and that viewers will continue to enjoy our live and exclusive coverage until at least 2016.”