BT Group PLC BT REMAINS HOME OF UEFA RIGHTS UNTIL 2027 (0200R)
01 July 2022 - 8:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMBT.A
RNS Number : 0200R
BT Group PLC
01 July 2022
1 July 2022
BT REMAINS HOME OF UEFA RIGHTS UNTIL 2027
BT Sport will remain the home of top flight European football
until 2027, it was confirmed today. BT have secured the rights to
the majority of the UEFA Champions League games, plus all the UEFA
Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League exclusively
live, for a further three seasons, including highlights and
in-match clips. BT Sport will continue to make the finals available
for all to watch.
BT Sport will show the new format of the three European
competitions from 2024, with 12 more teams, more matches than ever
before, plus the introduction of an additional "knockout-playoff"
round.
In each competition, 36 teams will play in a single league
format, with those finishing 1-8 progressing to the Round of 16,
teams placed 9-24 contesting the additional knockout round, and the
bottom 12 teams exiting the competition and no longer dropping down
into the UEL and UECL respectively, introducing more jeopardy and
must-win knock out matches.
The expanded qualification system opens up the possibility of a
fifth English team in the UCL and guarantees Scottish participation
in the UCL and UEL.
Last season the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and
UEFA Europa Conference League were a huge success on BT Sport with
a 37 per cent increase in UEFA Champions League viewer hours, the
final between Liverpool and Real Madrid available for all to watch
in the UK, and a record breaking 12.6m people tuning in across all
platforms.
Marc Allera, Chief Executive of BT's Consumer Division, said "BT
Sport continues to be the home of the UEFA Club Competitions until
2027 and we are extremely proud to have the privilege of twelve
years of broadcasting one of the most exciting competitions in the
world. It is fantastic news for our viewers that from 2024 we will
be able to show more games than ever before live and exclusive on
BT Sport."
Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA Marketing Director, said: "We are
delighted to be extending our partnership with BT until 2027. BT
has been a long-standing UEFA club competition partner since 2015,
where it has applied industry leading broadcast expertise to
European club football. Throughout 2024-27 BT will broadcast more
live matches than ever before, which will be supplemented by its
exceptional array of original programming."
The costs of the rights awarded to BT Sport is c. GBP305m per
annum. BT expects to pay a deposit of c.GBP61m in July 2022.
Following the move of BT Sport into the Joint Venture being created
by BT Group plc and Warner Bros. Discovery, which is expected to be
complete by the end of 2022, the JV would pay the rights costs of
c. GBP305m per annum less the deposit. The planned JV is subject to
customary closing conditions, including CMA approval.
Our financial outlook for FY23 remains unchanged. Following
completion of the sports joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery,
we expect Group revenues to reduce by GBP0.5bn-GBP0.6bn per annum
relative to FY22. We do not expect a material impact on our FY23
adjusted EBITDA outlook. We will confirm the full impact on all our
outlook metrics following completion.
Ends
Notes to editors:
The timing of the 6 cash payments covering the rights costs of
c. GBP305m per annum, less the deposit, by the proposed JV will
be:
-- August 2024 c.GBP92m
-- February 2025 c.GBP153m
-- August 2025 c.GBP153m
-- February 2026 c.GBP153m
-- August 2026 c.GBP153m
-- February 2027 c.GBP153m
Name of contact and telephone number for queries
Enquiries
Investor relations:
Mark Lidiard Tel: 0800 389 4909
About BT Group
BT Group is the UK's leading provider of fixed and mobile
telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions
and services. We also provide managed telecommunications, security
and network and IT infrastructure services to customers across 180
countries.
BT Group consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer serves
individuals and families in the UK; Enterprise and Global are our
UK and international business-focused units respectively; Openreach
is an independently governed, wholly owned subsidiary, which
wholesales fixed access infrastructure services to its customers -
over 650 communication providers across the UK.
For the year ended 31 March 2022, BT Group's reported revenue
was GBP20,850m with reported profit before taxation of
GBP1,963m.
British Telecommunications plc is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of
the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock
Exchange.
For more information, visit www.bt.com/about
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