BT Sport pitches for Xmas soccer audience

BT Sport has announced its festive football offering – and it’s hoping for a big audience over the holiday season. The channel will focus on four live Barclays Premier League matches which it will be showing exclusively in two double bills on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Fans can spend the day after Christmas tuning in to Manchester United taking on Newcastle United at 3pm, followed by the London derby Arsenal v Queens Park Rangers at 5.30pm. The focus on 1st January will be on the race to the top of the league, with the vital Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea showdown preceded by current champions Manchester City’s home fixture against Sunderland.

Simon Green, Head of BT Sport, said: “We will be treating BT Sport fans to a Christmas feast of football again this year. Our double headers on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day last year were extremely popular with football fans, and we are presenting viewers with the same gift this year.

“In the space of a few hours on New Year’s Day, viewers will be able to assess the title credentials of current holders Manchester City and then early pacesetters Chelsea. Jose Mourinho’s side have made a superb start to the season and it will be fascinating to see if they’ve kept up the momentum by New Year and are able to come away from White Hart Lane with three points.

“BT Sport is free for a second season with BT broadband and with 18 of the ‘top pick’ Barclays Premier League matches we are bringing more of the pivotal, must-see games to a wider audience.”

Mr Green is possibly getting a little carried away: he is running a business, not a charity, and various BT services have to be paid for and some services are only free if you have other services which you pay for (or have to pay for after an introductory free period). We did try to work it out, but it is all rather complicated on the BT website and we gave up. However, if your viewing packages include BT Sport, here’s what you can look forward to.