Sky and News Group to offer mobile football highlights
BSkyB has joined News Group Newspapers, publisher of the Sun and News of the World, to launch 24-7 Football - an on-demand football clips service for mobile users.
The satellite broadcaster is also to broadcast Barclays Premiership football games live via its mobile TV service for the first time. 24-7 Football will be jointly marketed and promoted by the Sun and News of the World and provide highlights and goal clips from the Barclays Premier League and Uefa Champions League.
For £5 a month, or 50p a clip, subscribers get access to "in game" goal clips - except on Saturday afternoons - highlights packages of all 380 Premiership games after they have finished and access to a video archive.
Users will also gain access to coverage from Sky Sports Gillette Soccer Saturday and Soccer AM.
The service will be available to customers on the T-Mobile, O2 and 3 networks in the UK and the O2 and 3 networks in Ireland.
24-7 Football has been born out of the joint rights Sky and News Group, a News International subsidiary, secured in July last year for the mobile audio-visual rights of Premier League content until 2010. Sky has also secured the corresponding rights to the Uefa Champions League.
From August 11 Sky is to make Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3 available via its mobile TV service as simulcast channels broadcasting all 92 premiership matches.
The Sky Sports content will be available through a sports mobile package for £5 a month that will offer unlimited access to the three channels as well as Sky Sports News.
Sky Sports Xtra will be added to the service later this year.
The service will initially be available to 3G subscribers of Vodafone UK & Ireland, Orange and, in the coming weeks, T-Mobile.
"Over 7 million people access Sky Sports content on their mobiles each month and live sport has already proved extremely popular on Sky Mobile TV," said Vic Wakeling, managing director of Sky Sports.
Sky has dabbled in the past with simulcasting live sport over mobile including last season's football league play-offs and England's Ashes tour of Australia.
Mark Sweney
Thursday August 2, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
BSkyB has joined News Group Newspapers, publisher of the Sun and News of the World, to launch 24-7 Football - an on-demand football clips service for mobile users.
The satellite broadcaster is also to broadcast Barclays Premiership football games live via its mobile TV service for the first time. 24-7 Football will be jointly marketed and promoted by the Sun and News of the World and provide highlights and goal clips from the Barclays Premier League and Uefa Champions League.
For £5 a month, or 50p a clip, subscribers get access to "in game" goal clips - except on Saturday afternoons - highlights packages of all 380 Premiership games after they have finished and access to a video archive.
Users will also gain access to coverage from Sky Sports Gillette Soccer Saturday and Soccer AM.
The service will be available to customers on the T-Mobile, O2 and 3 networks in the UK and the O2 and 3 networks in Ireland.
24-7 Football has been born out of the joint rights Sky and News Group, a News International subsidiary, secured in July last year for the mobile audio-visual rights of Premier League content until 2010. Sky has also secured the corresponding rights to the Uefa Champions League.
From August 11 Sky is to make Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3 available via its mobile TV service as simulcast channels broadcasting all 92 premiership matches.
The Sky Sports content will be available through a sports mobile package for £5 a month that will offer unlimited access to the three channels as well as Sky Sports News.
Sky Sports Xtra will be added to the service later this year.
The service will initially be available to 3G subscribers of Vodafone UK & Ireland, Orange and, in the coming weeks, T-Mobile.
"Over 7 million people access Sky Sports content on their mobiles each month and live sport has already proved extremely popular on Sky Mobile TV," said Vic Wakeling, managing director of Sky Sports.
Sky has dabbled in the past with simulcasting live sport over mobile including last season's football league play-offs and England's Ashes tour of Australia.
Mark Sweney
Thursday August 2, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
