BT Sport, Football Conference announce two-year deal

Shortly before press-time, The Football Conference and BT Sport revealed details of a two-year deal for the latter’s new channels to show 30 live matches a season from the Conference Premier. BT Sport will host live broadcasts from the grounds for 25 league matches, plus both legs of the play-off semis and the Promotion Final at Wembley, from the start of the 2013-14 season this August.

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, says: “We are delighted that we’ve been able to invest in the Non-League game and play our part in helping community clubs to flourish. We are not just interested in the glamour of the Premier League; we’d like to bring the excitement and grit of the Conference Premier to a new audience, as well as its existing strong fan base. There are some terrific clubs in the Conference Premier and some fantastic stories and characters, which we aim to develop in our coverage.”

Brian Lee, chairman of The Football Conference, adds: “We welcome the opportunity to be joining the revolutionary BT Sport, which we are sure will be a ‘game changer’ for ourselves and BT Sport. We feel that the prospect of showcasing our wonderful brand of live football to a potentially mind-blowing number of viewers can only enhance our product. We hope sponsors of clubs and competition alike recognise the huge step that we are now undertaking. We sincerely hope this is the start of a long and fruitful partnership for both parties.”