Blueprint
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of
Announcement: 06 March
2017
BT Group plc
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
BT
Group plc
81 Newgate
Street
London
EC1A 7AJ
England
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form
20-F..X...
Form 40-F
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information
to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes
No ..X..
If
"Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-
________
March
06, 2017
BT
WINS EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AND UEFA EUROPA
LEAGUE
Fans to benefit from UEFA Champions League 'double header' nights
and broader access for free via social media
Three year renewal to commence from 2018/19 season
BT
Sport will remain the exclusive UK home of all UEFA Champions
League and UEFA Europa League football, it was confirmed today.
Following a competitive auction process, BT has secured the rights
until the end of the 2020/21 season that for the first time brings
together exclusivity across all live games, highlights and in-match
clips of both competitions.
The
UEFA Champions League is set to be even stronger from 2018/19, with
a minimum of four participating teams now guaranteed from each of
England, Spain, Germany and Italy, resulting in more games between
the top European teams. Fans will also be able to enjoy UEFA
Champions League 'double header' nights, as live matches will kick
off at both 6pm and 8pm during the Group Stage.
BT will
continue to show UEFA matches using the latest broadcast innovation
and technology, with games made available in 4K ultra high
definition with Dolby Atmos sound, and via the award-winning BT
Sport App.
BT will
enhance its social media coverage to reach new audiences, by making
clips, weekly highlights, UEFA's magazine show, and both finals
available for free on social media. BT streamed both finals last
year on YouTube for the first time, taking the number of people who
watched BT's live coverage of the finals to more than twelve
million. The company will also seek to bring the best of the
action to its large mobile customer base.
John
Petter, Consumer CEO at BT, said: "We are delighted to have renewed
these rights. The UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League are
two of the best competitions in the world and we would like to
thank UEFA for choosing us as their exclusive broadcast partner in
the UK. The UEFA Champions League is due to get even stronger and
we are delighted that fans will be able to enjoy two live matches a
night for the first time."
Guy
Laurent Epstein, UEFA marketing director, said "UEFA is delighted
to have extended the relationship with BT Sport for a further three
seasons, taking our partnership to 2021. BT Sport has proved
to be an innovative broadcast partner, pushing the boundaries and
covering the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League in new
ways. BT have
delivered strong audiences in the UK
and we are excited about their future plans for the use of
social media which will engage a growing fanbase that consumes
sport in different ways."
BT has
made top tier sport far more affordable in the UK in recent
years. BT TV customers can access all of the action on BT
Sport from just £3.50 a month and the company has also made
its channels available to customers of EE.
BT will
pay around £394m each year for the rights. Following the
acquisition of EE last year which more than doubled BT's marketable
customer base, BT is in a strong position to monetise this
investment through subscription, wholesale, commercial, and
advertising revenues.
For further information
Enquiries
about this news release should be made to the BT Group Newsroom on
its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK dial + 44 20
7356 5369. All news releases can be accessed at our web site.
You can also subscribe to receive
all BT announcements here and you can follow us on Twitter
here.
About BT
BT's
purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better
world. It is one of the world's leading providers of communications
services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its
principal activities include the provision of networked IT services
globally; local, national and international telecommunications
services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move;
broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged
fixed-mobile products and services. BT consists of six
customer-facing lines of business: Global Services, Business and
Public Sector, Consumer, EE, Wholesale and Ventures, and
Openreach.
For the
year ended 31 March 20161, BT Group's reported
revenue was £19,012m with reported profit before taxation of
£2,907m.
British
Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT
Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of
the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London
and New York.
1The results for the period have been revised to
reflect the outcome of the investigation into our Italian business.
Detail of which is set out in our third quarter results
announcement published on 27 January
2017. This financial information is
unaudited.
Signatures
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
BT Group plc
(Registrant)
By:
/s/ Dan Fitz, Company Secretary
--------------------
Dan
Fitz, Company Secretary.
Date
06 March 2017