BT has secured the rights to broadcast Premier League games in the UK from the 2013-14 season.
The three-year deal, announced by the Premier League today, saw Sky retain the rights to five of seven packages of matches, with BT snatching the other two.
BT currently operates BT Vision, an 'enhanced' version of Freeview that allows subscribers to access additional channels and on-demand content through a broadband-enabled box.
The company plans to launch a new football channel to broadcast the 38 matches it has acquired, although it is unconfirmed whether the station will be available via Sky. The two companies have an existing partnership in place that sees Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 broadcast through BT Vision.
BT replaces ESPN as the secondary rights holder of Premier League rights in the UK, picking up packages 'A' and 'G' in the hotly-contested auction. The packages are for matches mostly played on Saturday afternoons, as well as some games in midweek and on Bank Holidays.
Sky retains packages 'B' to 'F' - some 116 live games per season - in a deal worth £760m a year to the League.
The new contract will see 154 of the 380 Premier League games per season broadcast live, an increase from the 132-per-season under the current deal. The total value of the contract is £3.018 billion, up a staggering £1.254 billion.
ESPN, which is about to enter the third and final year of its current deal, said it had submitted a "strong bid" and thanked the Premier League for its consideration.
Middle East-based broadcaster Al Jazeera was also thought to be in the mix.
Neil Wilkes
