BT has struck a deal with Irish pay-TV broadcaster Setanta to broadcast live Premiership football matches on its new broadband TV service, BT Vision.
The telecoms operator plans to launch a news sports service next summer, called BT Vision Sport, that will include access to the Setanta Sport channel and its 46 live FA Premiership games a season, as well as 60 live games from the Scottish Premier League.
Today's deal raises the stakes in BT's move to compete against BSkyB, which owns the rights to all the other Premiership matches from next summer.
Under a deal struck in May, BT and BSkyB won the joint rights to show 242 'near live' Premiership football matches, enabling them to offer fans games on a pay-per-view basis without the need for a monthly subscription.
BT now says nearly 75% of all FA Premiership games will be available in full to BT Vision Sport customers, live or near live.