Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Good point, but I still don't believe it. VM have more than 1.3 million XL subs.

Also this suggests Setanta had 1.4m subscribers excluding VM

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Well the good news is I've searched high and low and have found this interesting article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124545282520532809.html

Setanta has 1.2 million direct subscribers and 1.8 million indirect subscribers, who receive the company's programs through other parties such as BT Group BT Vision IPTV service and Virgin Media Inc.

So I was wrong. Setanta had 1.2 million paying customers but also 1.8 million "free" customers. A total of 3 million people with access to the channel when it went down the pan.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

And in my opinion BT can throw as much money as they want at it but the omens are not good.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

So on the basis of research by Chad and Spiderplant, 1.7m subscribers was worth over £200m, whilst the Virgin deal - providing a bloc of roughly the same number of subscribers - was worth less than £100m.

Have I read that right?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I'd be amazed if BT offered their channel to any other pay TV platform on a deal like VM had with Setanta and ESPN however time will tell , BT has bought the football rights too primarily increase the amount of people taking triple play from them. A telephone/BB customer with Sky , Talk Talk , Orange etc still brings BT money as the supplier has to pay a set cost to Openreach each year for a fully Unbundled line , a subscriber with VM cable pays all their money to VM making BT nothing hence why BT is very interested in going after those customers.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Bt bought the rights to compete with Sky, but ended up shooting the moon and paying over the odds for a set of rights that haven't now been able to sustain two broadcasters. I agree, it's very unlikely Bt sports will be available free in any of Virgin's collections - I think there's a decent chance it won't arrive at all - but Bt are very much on plan b here.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Yes. I'm surprised that you're surprised.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT have the money and they are playing the long game.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Well they are certainly going to need a bottomless pit of cash and even then that might not be enough to make a huge difference.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

That's what people said about Disney backed ESPN in 2009.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I was won of them. It would seem that anyone who goes head to head with Sky ends up paying far to much even if they do win TV rights. I believe John Malone has said this of the Dark lord himself;)

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Does anyone know if BT have won exclusive UK rights to the Italian, French and MLS leagues, or are ESPN theoretically still allowed to show them after BT start - assuming for now ESPN do continue broadcasting.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT will have them for the coming season. Theres rights to broadcast more Ligue1 games.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Apparently NRL will make an announcement tomorrow in regards to their British broadcast partner for 2013 / 2014 season. Premier Sports have bid however there are rumours that BT might have landed the rights ahead of them.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

FT.com reveal more on BT Sports.

FT is reporting the following:

More info at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/602fa218-7...#ixzz2LCnVxukq

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

i was wondering that 2 channels wouldnt be enough. i do hope BT dont hold selected events for its own platform! the ESPN asset buyout is expected. wholesale for VM?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

http://www.c21media.net/archives/90273

"BT intends to launch its new sports channel on Sky as well, adopting the same model Setanta Sports used several years ago whereby Sky carries the channel but subscribers deal directly with the owner.

ESPN, the current secondary broadcaster of Premier League games uses a model whereby subscribers buy the channel directly from Sky who then pay ESPN.

Negotiations over this, and a wholesale agreement with Virgin Media, where they sell the channel onto customers, are ongoing."

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

That info you have posted is from October 17th 2012.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I know. The original poster asked "Wholesale for VM?"

I was just posting a link to help him understand what this might mean.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Oh - (That) thing you called Sun is going for my eyes.:D

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

:D

Thanks for the info, some interesting info. Does FT mention anything else? I can't access the full article.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Try using google the following

BT in talks to acquire ESPN football

then you will see

BT in talks to acquire ESPN football - FT.com

Go onto that link then you may see the full story for free - it works for me.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Thanks

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT Sport target Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand, whose Manchester United contract expires at the end of the season, has been offered the opportunity to become BT Sport’s main football pundit.

The TV network want a marquee football name as their leading analyst after paying £738million for the rights to 38 Premier League games in each of the next three seasons, and Ferdinand would be their first choice if he decides to retire.

Ferdinand, who is heavily involved in a number of his own media projects, is understood to have other broadcasting offers, too.

But the central defender, 34, is still a first choice for United manager Sir Alex Ferguson - if not England - when fit.

And it would be a surprise if he hangs up his boots so soon to start a
TV career.

Meanwhile the much-travelled James Beattie, now playing for Accrington Stanley, is said to have impressed in pundit screen-tests for BT, though they will want a bigger name for their top-flight coverage.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/art...#ixzz2LIJrxxY6

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

They would do much better if they went for the excellent James Richardson.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

oh come on! Sky have Gary. BT want Rio. can we not have a bloody Utd bias!!

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

No-one outside of Manchester can understand Gary Neville anyway.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

The trouble with Rio fine player he was is that he's not that articulate in front of a camera and would be a poor choice in my opinion..

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT Sports remove MLS from lineup???

BT have remove the MLS logo from their website.

https://www.btsport.com/

An DS Poster thinks:

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showp...7&postcount=71

MLS moving to ESPN America HD???

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

The MLS season starts on the 03rd March. Virgin customers with TiVo should be able to go ahead in the EPG to see if there are any games on either ESPN or ESPN america.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

yes Chad it on ESPN

http://imageshack.us/a/img22/5052/img2013022200015.jpg


got to love TIVO :):):):)

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Found this on an Aussie RL forum regarding NRL coverage:

The last few years I paid for online streaming with LiveNRL.com and watched all games every round live.

With the new rights deal they lost the rights.


And again people living overseas receive better coverage of NRL than Aussies


I have been in contact with the NRL and received this email





Thanks for your email.

Setanta-I will be replaced by a new online service “Setanta Sports Plus” from March 1st and every NRL match will be shown live on this service.

This service will be available to supporters in China free of charge.

More details will be posted on our website at www.nrl.com prior to the commencement of the Premiership season.

We thank you for your support of the game

Still no announcement from Premier Sports about NRL coverage

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Got to hate ESPN for picking the Red Bulls for the 9000th time. :mad:

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Rumour

Rumours are circulating that Georgie Thompson has been axed from sky F1 and is been hunted by BT Sport. Georgie has not been on Sky's the F1 show since it restarted and Nathalie Pinkham has stood in for her, hosting the show with Ted Kravitz.

Georgie a prolific tweeter has not been on Twitter since January 31st. Georgie is no where to be seen on the our team page http://www1.skysports.com/f1-on-sky-sports/our-team

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Prolific Georgie :romance:

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Now now keep calm.:nono::naughty:

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT 'chasing ESPN football rights'

BT is keen to acquire ESPN's football rights for its soon-to-launch sports channels.

BT is believed to be in talks with ESPN that could see it acquire the beleaguered Disney-owned broadcaster's remaining rights to live football.

ESPN has already lost a number of its existing rights agreements for the coming seasons, having been outbid by BT and Sky for the Barclays Premier League. BT, which will launch its new sports channels later this year, has also won the exclusive rights to Aviva Premiership rugby union - a competition currently covered by Sky and ESPN.

BT is said to be interested in making a move for more football rights - specifically those for the FA Cup, Germany's Bundesliga and the Europa League.

According to the Financial Times, analysts believe that securing all three of these competitions would set the telecoms giant back around £20 million per year.

The experts noted that increased interest in live sports broadcasting from pay TV providers had driven up costs for content.

BT is currently working on finalising its line-up for the sports channels, with the company recently announcing that award-winning broadcaster Clare Balding will present her own programme for BT Sport.

Former BBC Formula One frontman Jake Humphrey is also making the switch to BT.

http://www.cable.co.uk/news/bt-chasi...hts-801545252/

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

He also has really annoying lips. Quite like Gary Neville though, couldn't stand Keys and Gray.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Like Bart?.........:D

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2013/02/15.jpg

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

ESPN to make "a major announcement"

ESPN have called a staff meeting for 9am Tuesday morning when they will make "a major announcement" it is expected that ESPN will inform its staff that BT Sport have bought ESPN's UK operation including rights for the FA Cup, Europa League, Scottish football and the Bundesliga

It is not known how many of the ESPN team will transfer to BT. But highly rated reporter / presenter Rebecca Lowe has impressed both ESPN’s American network chiefs and NBC, who have the US Premier League rights. Lowe’s possible move across the Atlantic might be connected to her partner, football manager Paul Buckle, leaving non-League Luton Town for personal reasons.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

l cannot say l am surprised by this news and now the question for many Virgin viewers is the cost for BT Sports and the sooner we know the better.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT have said the price of the channels will be announced nearer the time for the new football season starting in August so I'd expect an announcement later this summer I honestly can't see VM doing a deal with BT like they did with ESPN by putting it in the XL pack

What I'm waiting for is VM to announce they've secured the channels once I do I will be coming back from Sky in August regardless of the price as I'll be dropping the sky sports sub

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I wonder if the recent HD channel additions on VM are the ESPN money being distributed about elsewhere ? Now it looks certain to be exiting the UK.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

The new HD channels have arrived because new contracts have been signed they have nothing to do with ESPN leaving they will still be paying them on a sign up by sign up basis each month

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Contracts always have to be renewed however the more channels you add the more it costs , I'm willing to bet the ESPN funds are being spent elsewhere which in turn is bringing the customer a nice variety of HD channels however that's just my opinion.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

This is what I suspected may happen a few months ago.

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/11...o-if-espn.html

If ESPN drops out of the XL package in June, and is not replaced by BT Sports, customers will expect a price reduction. We know this because of the out cry from XL customers when Setanta went bust 4 years ago, prior to Virgin landed a deal with ESPN. It'll be easier for Virgin to bat away requests for a price reducing by highlighting all the new HD channels that have been added since the turn of the year.

We should know for sure what is happening in the next 3 to 4 months.

---------- Post added at 15:08 ---------- Previous post was at 14:53 ----------

The Daily Mail are going with the headline:

"Sky's new rivals BT snap up ESPN's UK operation including SPL and Bundesliga rights"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...rles-Sale.html

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I hope ESPN America continues as it did before the main ESPN channel launched at the demise of Setanta. Hopefully it will still be part of XL still and not a premium Channel.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

If ESPN America doesn't remain in the XL package, what do you think would be a fair price for the channel as a stand alone premium service? XL and VIP customers have enjoyed the channel for free for 4 years. The ESPN collection of channels cost everyone else with Virgin £8.00, or just £6.00 if they took SKY Sports. £5.00 would have to be a fair shout, especially if you get ESPN America in HD too.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

NASN cost £10 as a standalone however I'm not sure many would pay that for ESPN America especially those who like many sports , I can see ESPN America being added to Entertainment Extra on Sky and remaining in the XL on VM , its included in a pack on UPC Ireland and on many other platforms throughout Europe.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

In the old days of NASN the picture quality was awful, I cannot believe I paid £10 for it and I would not today.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Added to Entertainment Extra and XL would be a great outcome for American sports fans.

This whole chopping and changing of sports rights, and channels popping up and closing ever 3 or 4 years is a right pain in the behind.

My parents left SKY to join Virgin about 6 years ago purely so my Dad could get Setanta Sports free in the XL package. My Dad keeps asking me about BT Sports, will it be free, will he have to pay more etc...

I currently pay £10.00 per month for ESPN via SKY. If when BT Sports launches it costs about the same as ESPN currently does then I've got no problem. If it goes into the XL package with Virgin then my Dad has no problem. I can't help but feel however anyone who currently subscribers to ESPN with a provider outwith BT will end up paying more than they do now come the summer months if they take up BT Sports.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Yes about a fiver would be about right.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Maybe BT will use all ESPNA content to fill the nighttime on BT1/2/3, meaning no need for another channel? Maybe under a 'ESPN on BT' block or something.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

i subscribed to NASN when it started and have had ESPN America when it started up. I paid £10 pm back then but times have changed- it is not the only way to watch North American Sport anymore.

having had a channel for free to then expect people to pay for it will be difficult. Cant see many paying £10 on these days.

Personally even £5 pm might see my stop subscribing. Losing the NFL & NHL rights last year was a BIG disappointment for me. I subscribe to MLB.TV these days so can watch ANY MLB game i wish. As much as i like American sports, and i do follow college sports, is college basketball and football (and some MLB) enough to pay for it? probably not. Some questions would need to be answered first.

When ESPN goes will it transfer its NBA programming to ESPN America ? For me it would have to but as SKY has recently struck a deal with the NBA will it still have the rights?

Will ESPN America get any of its NFL programming again? Last Year ESPN lost its Monday Night Football game to BBC- it also stopped broadcasting its pregame ESPN (US) Sunday shows.

ESPN America HD would be absolutely essential to any pay subscription deal.

so no NHL, no NFL, some college sports ,possibly some NBA some MLB, MLS ? lacrosse ? hmmmmmmm.

as i say i would be sad to end my 10 years + watching this channel but it has to worth it.

Whilst having more tv companies showing sports increases competition it is not good new for viewers. How many people can afford to subscribe to Sky Sports, BT Sports and ESPN America (and maybe Premier Sports)? not too many i would say.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I agree, nice post.:)

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I will certainly second that.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Lets hope so but l have a feeling we could all be disappointed.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Speculation continues to grow surrounding Georgie Thompson reports say that she is set to be announced alongside Jake Humphrey as the new glamorous face of the new BT Sport channel.

http://f1paddock.biz/2013/02/georgie...medium=twitter

She was on twitter on Friday afternoon tweeting

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

i just hope we get bt sports and prem sport on the xl pack

ps come on Bradford city

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Lets hope so.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Worst kept secret is confirmed Bt Sport aquire all ESPN assets

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

breaking news

BT to buy ESPN's UK and Irish TV channels and its live sports rights including FA Cup, Scottish Premier League and Uefa Europa League http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21577676

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

well this has all just got even more confusing

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Looks like it's all coming together.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

ESPN to close ESPN Classic.


http://www.c21media.net/archives/102359

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

so does the mean bt sports will be on vm

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT are rumours to be in talks with Virgin Media over BT Sport launching on Virgin.

ESPN deal was up with Virgin Media in late July anyway.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Survival of ESPN America very good news for me.... :-)

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Yes indeed.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Breaking news 11 minutes after the previous post from one2escape announced it! ;)

Thanks for the link though!

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

It is good news as long as we are still able to view it.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Likely to be as part of a add on BT Sports subscription.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

We will all be available to view it in my opinion , however I fancy with what BT has paid out on sports it will be a standalone option on VM and Sky.

ESPN currently spend £47 million a year on EPL games
BT will spend £246 million a year on EPL games

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

So can somebody break down what we are likely to get after July?

Sky Sports - subscription
BT - extra subscription
ESPn - even further subscription

Or will the BT be free with sky sports?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Indeed MM but if they price it too high then the wall could come tumbling down quicker then they think.

---------- Post added at 14:29 ---------- Previous post was at 14:26 ----------

Sky Sports - subscription £25.75

BT Sports - extra subscription - Possibly £10 to £12

ESPN - All their channels now will be on BT Sports apart from ESPN Classic which will close

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I agree Den they have to be careful.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Just curious as to wether this is a random figure or based on something?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I've ALWAYS subscribed to every possible subscription sports channel for as long as I can remember. But if the above scenario comes in to play - where I have to spend circa £35 - £40 to do so, then I'm afraid BT will not be getting a penny of my money and it will just be sky sports for me.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I agree Den BT are going to have to be very careful how they play things if they go to high and force people to choose between them and Sky they will loose and go the same way as all the others.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

The way it being reported I think:

-ESPN will be close or be rebranded as BT Sports 3.
-BT will own ESPN America (UK).
-ESPN Classic will close.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21577676

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

ESPN as a standalone charged around that figure on Sky whilst VM Incorporated it into their XL pack but that seems unlikely this time due to the frequency of channels that have come our way lately with more likely to come in the coming months.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT will have 4 (HD) channels by July, I can't see a chance in hell of it costing £12.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

More than £12?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I'd have to say so. ESPN (plus America plus Classic) without Sky Sports (I assume Sky subsidizes their own customers) is £12 on Sky, BT are offering way more sport than that.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Then their hopes of succeeding are not good then.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

These are crazy prices. £450 odd a year?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Its a lose-lose situation for them, price too high no-one buys, price too low they bleed money.

I have no idea why they got into this, they're offering it on every platform so how does that entice people to get Vision? If BT charge more on the other platforms, they'll go to Ofcom just like BT did to get the wholesale price.

I can guess Al Jazeera will circling like a shark in a few years.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Dont know if i am pleased with ESPN America being part of the BT sports group or not.

For sure BT have spent big money -particularly on Premier League Football- presumably they will want to recoup their investment. While it would be great if it was included in the VM XL pack, like ESPN, this seems highly unlikely.

This is where BT need to be careful in their pricing. These are tough economic times and people , myself included, only have a limited budget on luxuries like TV sports. Sky sports charge £25 + pm- how much extra will people spend for their sports fix.

questions-
how many will be able to afford sky & Bt Sports if BT charge say £12pm or even more.?

How many would choose BT over Sky sports if subscribing to only 1? not that money i would say. This is what has caused Setanta and ultimately ESPN to fail.BT have pretty much the same sports line up as ESPN and Setanta before them- they both failed- what makes BT think it wont. Less and less are subscribing to ALL sports packages due to cost and ESPN (and Setanta) have failed to attract enough people from Sky Sports.

i dont know how many actually pay for ESPN on the Sky platform- not enough it would appear. How many VM subscribers would have paid the extra £ if it wasn't part of the XL pack? One would think BT have experts to crunch numbers as to the viability of its Sports operation and the amount of cash they have put into it in terms of how many subcsribers it needs and how much to charge.

perhaps VM will drop its charges if BT isn't included in the XL pack????

is that a pig flying past my window?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Who over though?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I agree with the comments in your post Cityfan.

In the days of NASN and the first few years of ESPN America, the channel had the entire set of US Sports apart from some NFL and the NFL post season. Since then it has lost its NFL coverage to the BBC and NHL to Premier Sports and shares NBA with Sky so all the channel has exclusively is MLB and the MLB season only lasts for seven months and in recent months the channel has only shown college sports and some second tier ice hockey and as you suggest, virtually nobody would pay extra for ESPN America as it stands right now, not even a fiver a month.

My guess is that it will be part of the three-channel BT Sport package consisting of BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN America and it's unlikely that BT will allow VM to include any of its channels into its XL package although there's a slight chance that they might allow ESPN America to continue in the XL package given that the intention is to retain ESPN America, presumably as it stands now, rather than fold ESPN America into BT Sports.

It will be interesting to see if Premier Sports appears on VM when ESPN stops broadcasting as XL customers right now stand to loose the sporting action that ESPN has provided over the past four years and before then the sport that Setanta used to show, plus also ESPN Classic although that channel was not what it was in the days before it appeared on VM so it's not much of a loss IMO. I somehow don't think that VM will lower the price of the XL package if this happens and overnight VM XL will be far less value than it was before Setanta was added to XL in around 2007.

---------- Post added at 15:54 ---------- Previous post was at 15:48 ----------

All good points.

As you say, what BT currently has is what ESPN has now plus WTA tennis although I think BT will add to its offering in the months ahead depending on what becomes available between now and August.

My guess is that BT Sports will cost £10-£12 per month but it will be interesting to see how much it costs for BT Vision customers.

I for one would not have paid for ESPN if it had not been in the XL pack and like you, I see those pigs flying past the window regarding VM dropping the price of XL in August...

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I agree I'd even say £15 if I'm honest , if that's the price I'm afraid I'm out.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT Sport. They've spent an absolute fortune on the premise that they make the sports money back from the channel subscriptions and make a profit due to the influx of BT Vision customers, but I just can't see them breaking even on sport or drawing a considerable number of new triple play customers.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Same here as there is only so much money in the Mr and Mrs denphone pot.:nono:

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Way to much I will be out as well.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

If it's not included in the XL Pack (which would seem likely) I don't see myself subscribing to BT Sports even with the addition of ESPNA which is a channel I used to love when it had both MLB and NHL. For me all I would be interested in is the football and MLB (if they have it) and to be honest almost any proposed extra price per month will be too much for me for just that offering.

As it is for me I get more than enough football from Sky Sports and would rather pay extra (which I do already) for MLB.tv.

I don't see BT having enough top end sports rights to take enough customers either away from Sky or added through VM or Sky subscriptions and it will be interesting to see what happens when the PL rights become available again as i'm not sure I can see BT being any more successful than Setanta or ESPN have been.

One thing that I hope could happen though if VM doesn't have BT in the XL pack is maybe add Premier Sports to it. PS clearly doesn't have anywhere near the rights of BT but at least would be some good news for us NHL fans. Probably won't happen though.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Agreed that I cannot see myself paying over a tenner a month extra for BT Sports. Will stick to Sky and Eurosport.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

will not be paying for bt sports if it a pay channel pay well enough to start with without adding to cost

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I think that people are making a mistake thinking that BT Sports are a straight swap for ESPN. The big driver in this is EPL rights, but there are 2 crucial differences:

1. BT Sports have 2 packages where ESPN had 1
2. These include some first choice (e.g. top rated) games, where ESPN didn't.

So, it's a much more even field with Sky Sports than it has been previously. I can't see BTS being less than £15 p/m, but I'm just wondering if SS may drop prices a little to stay competitive? (If there are similar packages, I can't see 1 being priced £10 less than the other).

I'll also hazard a guess that ESPN America will be renamed as simply ESPN, as there will be no need to distinguish it from the European Sport Channel.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Andrew there is no way Sky will drop the prices of their sports packages and more to the point they are likely to put them up again later in the year.