BT Vision to show Sky Sports 1 and 2

BT has signed a deal with Sky to show Sky Sports 1 and 2 on BT Vision.

BT Vision customers will be able to sign up for the channels from this month, and they will be on air from 1 August, in time for the start of the Premier League football season which kicks-off on August 14.

In March, Ofcom ordered Sky to cut the price it charges rivals for Sky Sports 1 and 2 by 23.4%, giving BT the opportunity to be able to offer the channels for the first time.

This was the result of an investigation the regulator launched in March 2007 when BT, Setanta, Top Up TV and Virgin Media requested a review of the way BSkyB sells its premium content to competitors.

Following this, the regulator said that as most consumers currently buy packages which include Sky Sports 1 and 2, the wholesale price for this bundle must be reduced by 10.5% to £17.14, which means rivals such as BT and Virgin Media will now pay £10.63 for each channel, down from £13.88.

BT will be revealing its pricing shortly.

Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT Retail, said: “We are delighted to have reached this milestone, which means that we can be certain of offering Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 to our customers before the football season kicks off.

“We know our customers will be keen to sign up for the two channels.”