Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavin-D
BSkyB is to announce significant price cuts to its broadband packages in direct response to competition from BT Sport.
A statement will be issued early this week, according to sources, and will concern the company’s internet and television bundles. The announcement is said to be a “market changer” and in retaliation to BT’s new free-to-view sports TV. BT Sport, considered to be Sky’s first credible rival, is due to launch its three sports channels at the beginning of August in time for the first game of the Barclays Premier League. It will be available to all BT broadband customers and is the first time football fans have been able to watch the premiership free in more than 20 years. Peter Oliver, commercial director for BT Consumer, welcomed the cuts from its rival. “We think Sky customers are grossly overcharged and welcome any cuts they make to their package,” he said.
“Many sports fans have broadband through us and their TV through Sky. Our channels will be free for those households, so we’d be happy seeing their monthly bills reduced by Sky.” Currently Sky charges customers £617.50 a year for access to the full suite of sports channels. That price includes line rental and 2GB of broadband data downloads per month. The equivalent deal from BT is £261 a year to watch the sports channels via a laptop, or a further £110 a year for a set-top box. This includes a download allowance of 10GB a month. The price war has been predicted by analysts. At the time of BT Sport’s launch in May, Fitch Ratings said: “BT’s decision to give away its football content free to broadband subscribers changes the pricing dynamics of the industry and could force BSkyB to cut prices at a time when content costs are rising.”
Sky declined to comment on the pending announcement, but sought to stress that it would show three times as many Premier League games as BT Sport next season. A source said that Sky did not consider BT Sport a threat any more than it did failed offerings from Setanta Sports or ESPN. BT Sport has bought the rights to ESPN in the UK and will broadcast games from the FA Cup and the Europa League.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...rts-offer.html
Rumors suggest Sky's new prices will be as follows
Fibre Pro £22.50
Fibre Unlimited £12.50
ADSL Unlimited £0
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Must admit I'll be very happy indeed if my current SKY broadband becomes free.
I get this speed 24/7, totally unlimited, no traffic management and all peer to peer software unaffected. Admittedly it's not the fastest connection available on the market, but if it becomes free with SKY Sports I'll be delighted.
So you'll have BT giving away BT sports with their broadband.
SKY giving away totally unlimited broadband with SKY Sports.
It'll be interesting to see what Virgin come out and offer. There is no way Virgin can stay quiet whilst BT and SKY are coming out with "game changing" deals for their customers.