( Financial Times ) -- BT has achieved its biggest sporting coup yet over Sky , winning the rights to show Champions League football matches in a £900 million ( $ 1,442 million ) deal . The deal , announced on Saturday , strikes at the heart of two decades of football broadcasting dominance by Sky . However , it is likely to raise questions about whether BT is paying too much for sports rights , to which it has now committed nearly £2 billion ( $ 3.2 billion ) . The Champions League is Europe 's football premier club competition , and BT , Sky and ITV had all hoped to secure some coverage in this week 's tender . Under a three-year agreement starting in 2015 , BT will be the only broadcaster to show live Champions League and Europa League games in the UK , paying £299 million ( $ 479 million ) per season . That is more than double what Sky and ITV currently pay for the same rights , suggesting that BT bid aggressively under its new chief executive Gavin Patterson . In the tender , ITV is thought to have bid about £63 million ( $ 101 million ) per season to show one live game per round , representing an increase of less than one-fifth on its current deal . Sky was prepared to increase its payments by a greater proportion , but could not match BT . `` It seems BT chose to pay far in excess of our valuation , '' a Sky spokesperson said in a statement . `` If we thought it was worth more , we 'd have paid more . '' TV is part of BT 's broader strategy to win customers to its premium fibre broadband packages , which include the sports channels for free at present . The Champions League deal will significantly bolster its channels as serious rivals to Sky in the eyes of viewers and advertisers . BT 's shareholders will be keen to see clear returns from such significant investments from a group that has previously focused on cutting costs and streamlining its operations . The group last week revealed a good start in customer numbers , with about 2m people so far having signed up to its channels although the majority would have been existing BT customers . However , the sports rights acquisitions weighed on earnings , and analysts say it is still too early to judge the new sports TV strategy a success . ITV , which was also outbid for rights to FA Cup games by the BBC , had hoped that Uefa would continue to offer some rights to terrestrial television , where advertisers can garner a larger audience . BT has pledged to make some games , including the Champions League final , available free even to those who do not have its pay TV platform . © The Financial Times Limited 2013 .
The BT deal strikes at the intersection of two lines of football coverage provided by Sky . It is likely to raise questions about whether BT is paying too much . Sky was prepared to increase its payments by a greater amount , but could not match BT . BT has pledged to make some games free even to those who do not have its pay TV platform .