Blueprint
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of
Announcement: 14 February 2018
BT Group plc
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
BT
Group plc
81 Newgate
Street
London
EC1A 7AJ
England
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form
20-F..X...
Form 40-F
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information
to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes
No ..X..
If
"Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-
________
|
DC
18-053
|
13
February 2018
|
BT SPORT RETAINS LIVE UK PREMIER LEAGUE RIGHTS FOR THREE MORE YEARS
FROM 2019/20 SEASON
Following
today's announcement by the Premier League, we are pleased to
confirm that BT will continue to show Premier League matches on BT
Sport for a further three years from the 2019/20 season, adding to
the exclusive line-up of premium European football and rugby that
sports fans already enjoy.
BT
Sport will continue to show games at 5.30pm on Saturdays next
season and then move to Saturday lunchtime fixtures from August
2019.
BT has
remained financially disciplined during this process and remains in
a strong position to make a return on this investment through
subscription, wholesale, commercial and advertising revenues,
especially following the acquisition of EE, which more than doubled
BT's customer base.
BT
recently agreed a multi-year agency deal to market and sell Sky's
NOW TV service to BT customers, which includes Sky Sports, from
early 2019.
Marc
Allera, chief executive of BT's Consumer division, said: "The
Premier League is undoubtedly the most competitive and exciting
domestic league in the world, so we're delighted that our customers
will be able to continue enjoying Saturday games on BT Sport.
The
Premier League is a big part of our live sport line-up, which
includes the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, the
Emirates FA Cup, MotoGP, boxing, Aviva Premiership rugby and
European Rugby Champions Cup."
"BT
Sport is enjoyed by over five million households and pubs and clubs
across the UK. We are excited about the opportunity to bring this
great content to even more TV and mobile customers as we pursue our
strategy of being the best provider of converged network services
in the UK."
BT has
made top tier sport far more affordable in the UK in recent years.
BT TV customers can access all of the action on BT Sport from just
£3.50 a month.
The
channels are available via BT TV and the BT Sport App, to EE
customers, on the Sky platform and to Virgin Media customers.
Audience figures continue to grow on BT Sport, with average viewing
up 23% year on year in the last quarter, its best performance since
launch in August 2013.
The
rights will cost £295m per season for 32 games. A deposit of
£26.5m is payable this month followed by six instalments of
around £145m starting in July 2019, payable every six months
until December 2021.
The
Premier League auction remains ongoing and BT will continue to
engage with the Premier League regarding the remaining
rights.
Notes to Editors
For further information
Enquiries
about this news release should be made to the BT Group Newsroom 020
7356 5369. From outside the UK dial + 44 20 7356 5369. All news
releases can be accessed at
our web site. You can also
subscribe to receive all BT announcements here and you can
follow us on Twitter here.
About BT
BT's
purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better
world. It is one of the world's leading providers of communications
services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its
principal activities include the provision of networked IT services
globally; local, national and international telecommunications
services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move;
broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged
fixed-mobile products and services. BT consists of six
customer-facing lines of business: Consumer, EE, Business and
Public Sector, Global Services, Wholesale and Ventures, and
Openreach.
For the
year ended 31 March 2017, BT Group's reported revenue was
£24,062m with reported profit before taxation of
£2,354m.
British
Telecommunications plc (BT) 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 stock exchanges in London
and New York.
For more information, visit
www.btplc.com
Signatures
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
BT Group plc
(Registrant)
By: /s/
Dan Fitz, Company Secretary
--------------------
Dan
Fitz, Company Secretary.
Date
14 February
2018