I thought it was going be the Beatles version for a second. That song on the link is rubbish.

BT Sport free for VM XL customers now official

http://store.virginmedia.com/digital...port-espn.html

Virgin Media and BT do 3 year deal to show BT Sports

http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/S...8-3FB9234B29AB

What a joke. So we Sky world customers get fobbed off, whilst Virgin get it free. Sort it out Sky.

Still undecided whether to subscribe to BT Sport. That VM deal is a bit of a kick in the balls to Sky World subscribers!

Sky should cease to broadcast this greedy company's channels now, it's pretty obvious that these channels only exist to grab Sky broadband customers. XL costs nothing near the full Sky price but Sky customers still have to pay £12 a month and a £15 activation fee?

Sky is the only reason why BT can succeed because of their amount of available subscribers, pull the plug and they'll come back crying when they can only offer the channels on Virgin or their own BT Vision box that nobody wants

Another excellent move from BT, a wholesale deal with Virgin.

Like I've said before sky tend to rip off customers whilst VM customers on the top packs get treats like this if you hold out like VM have you'll get the best deal eventually

I have heard from sources that a wholesale deal with Talktalk TV is likely to be signed very very shortly, making the BT Sport and ESPN channels available to every home television service in the UK.

Sky does not broadcast BT Sport. Sky is an open platform and the company just provides EPG services to BT and other channels. I can't see this status changing.
Many VM customers asked for a reduction when ESPN left the XL pack. Maybe you can ask a similar question of Sky?

Sky probably didn't want to subsidies BT Sports by making it part of their Sports package. Where as Virgin Media were happy to include it in the XL package for free. That's why Sky have great financial results every quarter.

Lets see if this pushes them to offer customers some sort if deal?!

Sky customers got a reduction when ESPN left the Sky package. Subscribers had been paying £10pm for it. Now they aren't.

I would have no problem paying sky for bt sport. I just don't want to pay bt for bt sport directly

It is a little hard to see BT's thinking behind the Virgin deal if their primary strategy is, as they claim, broadband retentions and new broadband subscriptions. At a stroke they have taken around 2m of Virgin's customers out of their target market as Virgin are going to offer BT Sport channels for free within their XL package. All BT get is whatever wholesale fee they have agreed. Virgin have a better TV offering inc Sky Sports which BT can't currently offer with You View.

On that basis there is no reason not to sort out a wholesale deal with Sky. Sky are unlikely to give BT Sport channels away for free so BT still have an edge in that regard when it comes to broadband sign ups etc. BT would also then be able to offer Sky Sports in return on You View.

The only reason for not doing it is the petty anti-Sky one that seems to pervade BT's approach to business. Their last hope in that regard is that Sky are forced to wholesale Sky Sports to BT without any reciprocation. That would give BT some leverage. However, lose that fight (as I hope they do) and there really isn't any good reason not to agree a mutual wholesaling deal with Sky - just petty reasons.

My current plan is to subscribe to BT Sport channels today on Sky to access the College Football season and end of the baseball season then cancel in January once CFB is done. The good news I suppose is that I can cancel sooner and take the channels directly from Sky thereafter if sense prevails and a mutual wholesaling deal is finalised between BT and Sky.

Difficult one for Sky customers here, free on Virgin XL including all multiroom boxes and on the TV apps vs £12 per box on sky with £15 activation...

It isnt difficult if you dont live in a cabled area like me.

I can see BT's thinking, with VM it is on a 3 year deal, basically this now gives BT time, to get people hooked so they can't do without the channel, gives time for BT to complete it's Fibre BB roll out across the Country and also gives time for BT to improve it's TV offering.

The wholesale deal with Virgin is a masterstroke as it guarantees revenue from those who are generally unlikely to subscribe anyway. The number of people likely to move is in the tens of thousands - and they are likely to go to Sky which weakens BTs position overall. This is the best deal possible for VM and excellent for BT.

People are also unlikely to switch the other way and if they do it'll be on Sky retentions to stop it.

I guess people like Jim_S might feel they are paying £15pm to BT now instead of £10pm to Sky, have no multiroom and have to pay a one-off £15 activation fee too. I acknowledge the three BT-owned channels contain far more expensive content than ESPN's and all three are generally live channels whereas ESPN Classic was not.

You think Sky should decry a company that creates a channel with the pure intention of stealing customers from other providers?

Umm, Sky Atlantic anyone?

Is this some kind of sick joke?

Surely this is bad news for Sky, Que Virgin adverts informing the world about FREE BT SPORTS for XL customers.

Sky are about to hit a PR disaster with lots of unhappy Sky World Customers.

Almost every service, some of the small set-ups like Small World haven't.
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showp...87&postcount=7

I also believe it is a sensible deal but on the same basis I think a wholesale deal with Sky would also make sense. Unless Sky gave the BT channels away (like Virgin XL - unlikely), or at a significant discount to BT's own standalone price (they might offer at wholesale cost or just above), then BT retain their edge of free channels if you switch broadband to BT whilst those who have no desire to switch to BT anyway from Sky (for broadband or TV) can still access the channels on the simplest basis. Sky also has the biggest base of genuine sports fans.

The more Sky subscribers that BT Sport has access to the more they can push their own broadband offering to whilst still receiving fees in the meantime.

And BT You View subscribers would get access to Sky Sports in return. Win win.

Although I guess those 2m people had arguably already taken themselves out of that market by not switching, despite all the advertising about it not being available on Virgin. So now they'll be getting something from Virgin for at least 2m customers that they probably wouldn't have.