Sky Sports the big winner as Premier League strike massive £5billion new TV deal

Sky's Super Sunday will continue under the new TV deal.


Sky Sports has again snatched the lion's share of live Premier League games after an astonishing £5billion-plus new three-year TV deal was struck.

BT Sport have retained a similar amount of games to what they currently have, but Sky have increased the number of games they will show and crucially have the most "first picks" including the prestige 4pm Sunday games, Monday night matches and new Friday night kick-offs.

In a swap of the current arrangement, Sky will screen Saturday lunchtime kick-offs with BT now taking over the 5.30pm Saturday matches.

The new deal runs from the 2016-17 season to the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

WHO GETS WHAT:
SKY SPORTS - 126 GAMES PER SEASON - including 26 first picks.
> 28 Saturday 12.30pm games (including 6 first picks)
> 28 Sunday 1.30pm to 2.15pm games
> 28 Sunday 4pm games (including 18 first picks)
> 28 Monday/Friday night games
> 14 bank holiday/Sunday games (including 2 first picks)

BT SPORT - 42 GAMES PER SEASON - including 12 first picks.
> 28 Saturday 5.30pm games (including 9 first picks)
> 14 midweek evenings/Saturdays (including 3 first picks)

Sky will be delighted with the deal although they had to pay more than 80 per cent more than their current agreement to secure it.  Sky will have Premier League games live through from Fridays to Monday some weekends and crucially have the key first picks and a hefty amount of second-picks to ensure they have the majority of the best games.

BT Sport would no doubt have been keen to add more than just the extra four matches they've secured, but with Champions League transferring from ITV and Sky from next season they will feel they have a competitive football offering which also includes the FA Cup.

There had been speculation that Discovery (owners of Eurosport) and BeIn Sports would offer fierce competition, but Premier League officials refused to reveal if any other broadcasters had bid.

BT have secured two of the seven live packages on offer


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