BT share price: Telco steps up fight with Sky with mobile app games

BT Group (LON:BT.A) is set to offer free Premier League and Champions League football to EE’s huge customer base as it steps up its fight with FTSE 100 rival Sky (LON:SKY), The Times has reported. The move is expected to help the former telecoms monopoly justify its investment in sports rights.

BT’s share price has fallen into negative territory in London this morning, having shed 1.12 percent to 392.50p as of 10:12 BST. The shares are underperforming the benchmark FTSE 100 index which has gained ground in today’s session and currently stands 0.45 percent higher at 6,620.32 points. The group’s shares have lost nearly 14 percent of their value over the past year, and are down by more than 16 percent in the year-to-date.

The Times reported today that BT was set to offer free Premier League and Champions League football to EE’s huge customer base in anticipation of Sky’s move into the mobile market. The offer of six months of free football to EE’s users via the BT Sport app will also return the BT brand to the high street with the offer set to be promoted heavily in the mobile operator’s stores.
The newspaper quoted EE’s chief executive Marc Allegra as explaining that there are millions of EE users who are not also BT customers and that they could be tempted by the prospect of free access to matches.
The move, which will help justify BT’s lavish investment in sports rights, comes as rival Sky prepares to enter the mobile market which is likely to draw heavily on its strength in sports. Sky, which is using O2’s network to launch a mobile service, however, has not yet detailed its plans.
As of 10:37 BST, Monday, 11 July, BT Group plc share price is 392.55p.

Copy expert traders easily with BROKER_NAME_LINK. Invest in stocks like Tesla & Apple. Instantly trade ETFs like FTSE 100 & S&P 500. Sign-up in minutes.