BT Sport was close to snatching the rights the rights to Spanish football in the UK from Sky Sports on Saturday after its bitter rival dramatically pulled out of the bidding process.
In what would be the biggest shock in sports broadcasting since it blew Sky out of the water to land the Champions League, BT was poised to freeze the latter out of showing Real Madrid and Barcelona for the next three years.
And, this time, it was set to do so on the cheap after Sky refused to up its initial offer for rights it has held for more almost two decades, withdrawing from the bidding process in protest after it went to a second round.
It had been expected to pull out all the stops to remain the home of El Clásico and the weekly adventures of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Barcelona and Real Madrid broadcast rights close to moving to BT Sport from Sky Sports - Telegraph
In what would be the biggest shock in sports broadcasting since it blew Sky out of the water to land the Champions League, BT was poised to freeze the latter out of showing Real Madrid and Barcelona for the next three years.
And, this time, it was set to do so on the cheap after Sky refused to up its initial offer for rights it has held for more almost two decades, withdrawing from the bidding process in protest after it went to a second round.
It had been expected to pull out all the stops to remain the home of El Clásico and the weekly adventures of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Barcelona and Real Madrid broadcast rights close to moving to BT Sport from Sky Sports - Telegraph