UK pay-television broadcasters Sky Sports and BT Sport have said they will resume charging subscribers this month, as live sport begins to return to their schedules.
In March, Sky said it would allow residential and commercial customers to freeze their subscriptions amid the dearth of live sport due to Covid-19.
Football’s English Premier League represents the key rights property for both Sky and BT. The league’s targeted return to action on June 17 has led to both broadcasters updating their plans.
Sky said: “Billing will resume for Sky Sports Golf & Premier League subscribers including those on Complete Sky Sports, single channel packs, and also two, or three channel packs in June. You will not be charged for Sports for any days before June 19.”
Sky currently offers its ‘Complete Sports’ package to new subscribers for £23 (€26/$29) per month for the first 18 months (and then £30 per month).
Meanwhile, BT Sport, UK rights-holder of the German Bundesliga, which resumed last month, said it would offer its customers a bill credit of 50 per cent off the cost of their subscription for June.
BT Sport currently offers its Monthly Pass to new customers over an 18-month term at £25 per month. Those with existing broadband or television contracts can add the BT Sport Pack for £10 per month.
BT has already offered subscribers two months of credit back for the full cost of their subscriptions for April and May.
Sky, which holds the bulk of the Premier League’s live rights in the 2019-22 cycle, will broadcast 64 of the remaining 92 matches from the 2019-20 season. It will make 25 matches in its quota available to free-to-air digital terrestrial viewers through its PickTV channel. These matches are those that Sky had previously not been scheduled to broadcast.
BT will show 20 matches, up from the eight it had originally been due to broadcast. The matches will only be available to BT Sport customers.
Pan-Nordic broadcaster Nordic Entertainment (Nent) Group yesterday (Monday) said it would reintroduce full pricing for its sports channels in Denmark, Finland and Sweden and will also resume sports-rights payments.