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BT Sport extends Champions League rights deal in £1.2bn agreement

BT Sport will continue to air Champions League football until 2021 in an exclusive deal worth just short of £1.2bn, with ITV Sport losing the rights to show highlights.

BT Sport has seen off competition from Sky Sports to retain exclusive rights to air Champions League football until 2021 in a deal worth £1.18bn.

The mega-money agreement - an increase of 24% on the previous contract - means that the European competition will no longer be aired on terrestrial television, as ITV Sport has lost its current late-night highlights package.

BT Sport took the rights from Sky Sports in 2013 when splashing out £897m to secure the coverage until 2018, and that deal has now been extended by a further three years.

While footage from the Champions League will no longer be shown on ITV Sport, the rights holder intends to make video clips and weekly highlights free to view on social media.

It has also been confirmed that, as part of the new structure of the showpiece competition, games will be moved from the usual 7.45pm kickoff time to either 6pm or 8pm - similar to the Europa League.

John Petter, Consumer CEO at BT, said: "We are delighted to have renewed these rights. The UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League are two of the best competitions in the world and we would like to thank UEFA for choosing us as their exclusive broadcast partner in the UK.

"The UEFA Champions League is due to get even stronger and we are delighted that fans will be able to enjoy two live matches a night for the first time."

Four teams from each of England, Spain, Germany and Italy will also automatically qualify for the event.

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Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Lineker and Glenn Hoddle at the launch of BT Sport's European football coverage in London on June 9, 2015
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