Battle of the broadcasters: BT and Sky go head to head as new football season nears kick off
BT Sport has launched its counter to Sky Sport’s ad starring Thierry Henry with a campaign that promotes its position as the “home of European football”.
By Sarah Vizard
Airing tomorrow (25 July) the TV ad features football stars including Gareth Bale, David Luiz, Joe Hart and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain alongside BT Sport’s pundits and presenters Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen.
BT says it “aims to pay homage to the glitz, glamour and spectacle” of the Champions League and Europa League. The series of ads, created by AMV BBDO, includes one spot in which some of the footballers take on the header challenge and another in which Luiz goes for a swim.
A further spot will promote the fact that BT Sport is free for customers of BT TV as footballers are convinced to change their player numbers to 0.
Dan Ramsey, customer acquisition director at BT Consumer, says: “This is an exciting time for BT Sport. We hope viewers get into the party spirit and enjoy seeing some of their favourite football stars celebrating with the glitz and glamour that surrounds the elite tournaments for world club football.”
The TV spots will be supported by outdoor, press and radio ads as well as social activity under the ‘Beat the bin’ strapline.
BT continues to offer all its matches for free for BT TV customers but BT broadband customers will be charged £5 a month.
Sky puts spotlight on Premier League
Sky, meanwhile, chose to put a spotlight on the Premier League in its campaign. The ads feature ex-Arsenal footballer and Sky Sports pundit Henry reliving iconic moments from the Premier League. Highlights include Henry joining in the celebrations of Brian Kidd and Sir Alex Ferguson when a win over Sheffield Wednesday set them on course to win a first Premier League title in 1993.
It goes on to show Stan Collymore scoring a stoppage-time winner for Liverpool in 1996 as well as strikes by Eric Cantona and Alan Shearer.
Gary Hughes, head of football at Sky Sports, says: “Sky Sports is synonymous with the Premier League – we have been there from the beginning and brought viewers countless unforgettable moments from the greatest league in the world. Thierry going back and celebrating a few of those special moments will only make everyone more excited for the season ahead.”
The rivalry between Sky Sports and BT Sports is hotting up following BT’s successful move into football. In the latest package of football rights, Sky secured five of the seven “packages” of matches on offer but BT Sport successfully bid for European football. The latest TV deal is worth £5.136bn.
