All of EE’s monthly mobile subscribers are being offered six months’ free access to BT Sport in the first big content tie-up between the two companies since the telecoms giant’s £12.5bn acquisition of the mobile operator in January.
The offer means EE’s more than 15 million mobile subscribers will be able to watch Premier League and European club football, as well as other sports such as club rugby and Moto GP, on tablets and smartphones, significantly expanding the reach of BT’s TV channels. After the six-month period is up, customers can opt to pay £5 a month to keep access.
The offer marks the first time a BT service has been promoted through EE’s retail stores. BT is locked in a battle with Sky, which has used its dominance of pay TV, particularly in sport, to move aggressively into telecoms. Both companies want to sign up customers to bundles of services including broadband and TV, and Sky is preparing to launch its own mobile service in partnership with EE rival O2.
The service is launching with a “multimillion-pound” advertising campaign featuring footballing names including Rio Ferdinand, José Mourinho and Harry Redknapp, as well as the star of EE’s recent advertising campaigns, Kevin Bacon.
EE chief executive Marc Allera said he did not anticipate the deal – which does not allow customers to sideload content from the BT Sport app to their TV – would cannibalise those BT customers who already pay for its sports and other channels.
“When I watch sport, I love to watch it on a big screen. You want to be looking at it on a large screen,” he said. “This is for when you don’t happen to be at home. It’s complementary not substitutional.”
He added that content tie ups between mobile operators and content owners was “certainly a trend” and one which looks set to keep growing.
“Years ago, network capability and coverage wasn’t there to make the most of these content opportunities, he said. “You are obviously seeing examples of it in our market and other markets as well.”
He added that the availability of streamed football from BT would help customers understand the capability of 4G mobile networks.
He said: “We know our customers want to do this in more places, we’re saying they will see and understand and experience that you can do these things.”
