Premier League suggested controversial £14.95 charge for pay-per-view matches, claims BT Sport boss
BT Sport chiefs claim the Premier League’s controversial new Pay-Per-View plan is designed to protect football’s struggling ecosystem, rather than line the pocket of clubs or broadcasters.
As revealed by Sportsmail, fans shut out from stadiums now face paying £14.95 to watch matches not already broadcast – on top of existing subscription fees for BT and Sky Sports.
Marc Allera, chief executive of BT’s Consumer Division, says the fee only helps cover their costs and any additional revenue is aimed at helping clubs and leagues struggling during the pandemic.
Premier League and broadcasters have been heavily criticised over the pricing of the games
‘We had a suggested retail price which was suggested to us by the Premier League. We also have a cost that they’re charging us for those games. We’re certainly not making significant amounts of money out of this, we’re pretty much just covering our costs,’ he said.
‘I think the intent of the Premier League to put these games on was to get some money moving into some of the clubs and leagues that are struggling and I think that’s a good intent, and that’s reflected in the price that they’re charging us. the vast majority of that £14.95 is the cost price to us of that game.’
When the 2019-2020 season resumed behind closed doors, the Government persuaded broadcasters to show many Premier League games free to air.
And Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said he was ‘not massively impressed’ by the new PPV model, claiming: ‘These things jar with the idea of coming together in this period of crisis.’
Premier League has yet to decide how to split any revenue from the pay-per-view matches
BT boss Marc Allera said his company was simply covering costs in screening these games
But, speaking as EE announced Match Day Experience, a new set of immersive viewing features on the BT Sport app, Allera said: ‘Our objective is to help the Premier League and the football ecosystem, it relies on significant amounts coming in from broadcasters and other revenue streams and we’re trying to do everything we can to help them facilitate that money move to places where it’s needed.
‘It’s our job just to put (games) on and give those fans that can’t go to the stadiums the chance to watch those games, and whether it’s a few thousand or a few hundred thousand (watching) it is still money that is going back into football and we’re pleased to be playing our part in that.’
BT’s first PPV offering is Chelsea vs Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
Match Day Experience on the BT Sport app, the UK’s most immersive sports viewing service, will be inclusive for new customers taking the Full Works iPhone plan with the new 5G iPhone. Visit ee.co.uk for more from 16 October
