BT awards ad sales contract to Channel 4

DC13-139 May 2, 2013

BT awards ad sales contract to Channel 4

BT has signed a three-year exclusive deal with Channel 4 to be its partner for TV ad sales on BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN.

Channel 4 was selected following a competitive tender process, as a result of its experience in third party ad sales for brands such as UKTV, Box TV and PBS America.

As well as placing TV ads around the BT Sport programming, including 38 exclusively live Barclays Premier League football matches, Channel 4 will also offer options for programme sponsorship and explore opportunities for product placement.

Marc Watson, chief executive of TV, BT Retail, said: We are delighted to be working with Channel 4 to sell our advertising on BT Sport. The companies are a great fit and with Channel 4's sales experience and our channels, we look forward to growing our businesses together, in what we expect to be a very successful, long term partnership.

Jonathan Allan, director of Sales at Channel 4 said: We're delighted to be representing BT Sport and it is a real coup for us to be chosen as a commercial partner. Alongside the Channel 4 portfolio, UKTV, Box and PBS, the addition of BT's premium sports content gives us an unrivalled ability to target young and upmarket audiences. Together, we are looking forward to changing the game in the way we work with advertising partners and build upon our reputation for innovation and challenging the status quo.

Channel 4 will also run an auction process for BT Sport for betting partners offering live odds and split screen technology across live sport.

Airtime packages will be available to advertisers across the whole of the amazing sport lined up for BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN.

The biggest draw is the 38 exclusively live Barclays Premier League games, 18 of which are top picks.

BT Sport has also secured the rights to live top tier matches from Serie A in Italy, Ligue 1 in France, Brasileiro in Brazil and Major League Soccer in the USA.

And BT's acquisition of ESPN's TV channels business in the UK and Ireland will bring the rights to show live games for the FA Cup, Scottish Premier League, Europa League and the German Bundesliga.

BT Sport will also show exclusive coverage of all 69 live rugby union games from the Aviva Premiership.

In addition, BT has signed a deal with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) to show matches from 21 global tournaments, including the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships.

The BT Sport channels will be based at the iCITY development at the Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford. The company has opened a pre-registration site for customers to register their interest in BT Sport at www.btsport.com

-Ends-

About Channel 4

Channel 4 is a publicly-owned, commercially-funded, not-for-profit public service broadcaster and has a remit to be innovative, experimental and distinctive. Its public ownership and not-for-profit status ensure all profit generated by its commercial activity is directly reinvested back into the delivery of its public service remit. As a publisher-broadcaster, Channel 4 is also required to commission UK content from the independent production sector and currently works with around 400 creative companies across the UK every year. In addition to the main Channel 4 service, its portfolio includes: E4, More4, Film4, 4Music, 4seven, channel4.com, video-on-demand service 4oD and standalone digital projects.

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