By Connor Watson
The broadcast deal between BT Sport and UEFA are too short-sighted, according to a media sports expert in Leicester.
The deal doesn’t look far enough ahead, says Paul Smith, Senior Lecturer of Media and Communications at De Montfort University.
BT bought the exclusive live broadcasting rights for £897m, which means they have the rights to show all 350 fixtures from both the Champions and Europa League.
Mr Smith said: “The biggest problem is that they need to look at a balance between free to view and pay to view.
“This deal is only a three year contract but if it keeps up like this then football fans will start to lose interest and in 10 to 15 years it may fall out of favour.
“Even some high profile matches have seen a drop in viewership when behind a pay wall and this will spark problems for sponsors and the money EUFA can get for them.”
BT has that as part of the deal they will show at least one match for each British team every season.
The rights will run for three years and start for the 2015/16 season. Previously they have been split between Sky Sports and ITV.
