BT Sport has announced that it had signed a deal for up to four exclusively live matches a week from the Portuguese Primeira Liga, taking the channels’ total to six European leagues.
The Portuguese rights include exclusively live home and away matches played by the league’s ‘Big Three’ teams, current league champions Benfica, Porto FC and Sporting Lisbon.
BT will also have the rights to show the eagerly-awaited ‘O Classico’ matches between Benfica and Porto, alongside its other exclusively live matches from other top European leagues including Germany’s Bundesliga, France’s Ligue 1, Italy’s Serie A.
Portuguese football action will also feature in the channel’s Sunday night European Football Show, presented by James Richardson, which rounds up each weekend’s action across Germany, France and Italy during the season.
Primeira Liga becomes the fourth continental European league to feature as part of BT Sport’s extensive live football portfolio.
The deal comes as rivals broadcaster Sky Sports prepares to launch Sky Sports 5 in August, a channel solely dedicated to its own European football coverage, which will feature UEFA Champions League matches, Euro 2016 qualifiers, Spain’s La Liga and Dutch Eredivisie.
Grant Best commented: “We are also delighted to announce today that we’ll be able to offer exclusively live matches from another of the best European leagues, the Primeira Liga.
“Benfica had a hugely successful season last year, dominating domestic competitions, as well as reaching the final of the Europa League. But there are three powerhouses of Portuguese football and Sporting Lisbon and Porto will be looking to catch up this season
“BT Sport viewers will be able to enjoy the very best matches, including the great O Classico rivalry, and watch some of the stars of the World Cup, including Columbian striker Jackson Martinez, who was top scorer for Porto last season, and the inspirational Sporting Lisbon captain and goalkeeper Rui Patricio.”
Alongside live coverage of pre-season friendly matches, BT Sport will kick off its new season in the Barclays Premier League with Louis van Gaal’s first league game as the new Manchester United manager on the opening day of the new season on August 16.
The channels, which are free for a second season for BT broadband customers, will also show current champions Manchester City three times in the Barclays Premier League during its initial selection of TV matches, as well as their FA Community Shield match versus Arsenal on August 10.
Portugese Primeira Liga rights sits alongside the BT Sport’s live coverage of 38 Premier League games per season, European action from Italy, Germany and France, and, from 2015/16, exclusive live coverage of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
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