UK telecoms operator BT has, for the first time, made its pay-television BT Sport channels available on a monthly basis without a contract.
Priced at £25 (€30/$33) per month, the BT Sport Monthly Pass will allow anyone to buy and watch BT Sport on a month-by-month basis. The pass will offer BT Sport content including the Uefa Champions League and Europa League, weekly live clashes from the English Premier League, the FA Cup and Premiership Rugby.
The BT Sport Monthly Pass will grant access to content via the BT Sport App on Apple/Android mobile devices, online via btsport.com, Sony PlayStation 4, Apple TV, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox One and Chromecast.
The BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport 3, BT Sport ESPN and the BT Sport Extra channels will all be available to pay-as-you-go customers. Monthly Pass customers will also be able to view the 4K channel, BT Sport Ultimate, at no extra cost.
Today’s announcement comes after it was reported last month that BT is planning to raise the price of its sports channels after the renewal of broadcast rights to Uefa club competitions for the 2021-24 cycle.
BT earlier announced that it had agreed to pay £400m per season for the UK rights to the Champions League, Europa League and the new third-tier Europa Conference competition for the three seasons from 2021-22 to 2023-24.
BT currently charges £29.99 per month for its Sport Pack for its non broadband customers. The telco charges its broadband customers £16 per month for the Sport Pack, while those who have the BT TV service can add the Sport Pack for £10 per month.
BT Sport’s main rival, fellow pay-television broadcaster Sky, began offering its sports channels on a pay-as-you-go basis seven years ago through its streaming service Now TV. A Sky Sports monthly pass is priced at £33.99.
Pete Oliver, managing director of marketing for BT’s consumer division, said today: “Monthly Pass forms part of BT’s ambition to offer BT Sport customers’ unrivalled choice and the highest quality broadcasts on even more devices and platforms.”