BT share price: Company signs exclusive deal for AMC’s UK channel

BT Group Plc (LON:BT.A) has signed an exclusive deal with AMC to carry the British channel of the US network, known for being the home of high-profile TV drama series such as Mad Men and The Walking Dead. The move is a clear signal of BT’s intention to expand its TV programming beyond sport.

Over the past couple of years BT has invested more than £2 billion in its sports coverage in an attempt to challenge Sky Plc (LON:SKY) and attract more customers to its broadband service. But up until now, BT’s push into TV has been lacking in terms of drama and other entertainment programmes. The deal with AMC changes that, giving BT rights to a number of forthcoming shows. The only programme announced so far has been AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, a spin-off of the popular zombie series.
“We’re confident our viewers will enjoy AMC’s cinematic approach to storytelling,” said Delia Bushell, head of head of BT TV and a former executive at Sky Italia.
The deal also expands BT /Sky rivalry to yet to another front. Sky has its own channel, Sky Atlantic, which shows a range of entertainment content, including HBO shows such as Game of Thrones. Sky Atlantic is not available to BT customers as part of their TV package. At the moment, BT has not confirmed whether the AMC channel, which launches in September as part of BT TV, will be available on Sky’s platform.
In today’s trading, BT shares were down 1.7 percent at 444.85p, as of 15:12 BST. The stock has advanced 10.9 percent since the start of the year and the company’s market capitalisation currently stands at £37.2 billion.
The 18 analysts offering 12 month price targets for BT have a median target of 519.00p, with a high estimate of 600.00p and a low estimate of 355.00p. As of June 12, 2015, the consensus forecast amongst 23 polled investment analysts covering BT had it that the company will outperform the market. This consensus estimate has been maintained since November 5, 2013, when the sentiment of investment analysts improved from “hold”.
As of 16:18 BST, Tuesday, 16 June, BT Group plc share price is 445.35p.

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