BROADCASTERS Sky and BT Sport have retained the rights to screen live English Premier League games in the UK until 2019.
They paid a combined £5.14 billion for the broadcast rights, up from the £3bn they paid for the current contract. Sky shelled out £4.2bn with BT Sport paying £960m. The deal will see Sky showing 126 matches in each of the 2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 Premier League seasons, up from 116 currently, while BT Sport will screen 42 matches each season, up from 38.
A statement from Sky said the company will “work hard to minimise the impact of higher rights costs on customers”.
Scottish football is not part of the new deal, and SPFL games continue to be split between Sky and BT Sport as per the existing agreement.
The news comes after Sky Sports was awarded the rights to exclusive live coverage of The Open. The event will be screened on Sky for five years from 2017.
