BT announces pricing for its Ultra HD sports package

Back in February, there was talk that BT was looking at offering UK customers a 4K Ultra HD channel and now the company has released all the details on its forthcoming BT Sport Ultra HD channel.

It forms part of BT's top TV package, Entertainment Ultra HD, and will launch on 2nd August with the FA Community Shield, followed by the opening game of the Barclays Premier League Season between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur on 8th August.

Other events to be shown on the channel will include selected UEFA Champions League, Barclays Premier League, and FA Cup games, as well as Aviva Premiership Rugby matches and MotoGP motorcycle racing.

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The new package will also include a new YouView+ Ultra HD box, made by Humax, with a 1TB hard drive, enough to store 600 hours of SD content, or 250 hours of HD content. IT also comes with a voucher for up to £500 off an LG 4K TV.

The package will be available to buy online from Friday, 24th July.

BT had previously announced its plans for its sports coverage for 2015, which include showing all 351 UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches on a new BT Sport Europe channel, which will be free for BT TV customers.

Sky TV customers, who have BT Broadband, will be able to add the BT Sport Pack to their service for an extra £5/month.

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More than one Champions League will be shown at once, and BT TV viewers will get the benefit of being able to switch between these matches. They’ll also be able to access a ‘Goal Alert’ function, which will alert viewers when a goal is scored in any of the other matches being played. It’s presumed that Sky TV and Virgin Media customers will be able to view only the most popular match being shown.

A new BT Sport Showcase channel will make its way to Freeview, meaning non-subscribers can still access some content: a minimum of 12 Champions League matches and 14 Europa League matches.

The new BT Sport service will launch on 1st August.

A Sky 4K box was rumoured for release this year, though it seems BT has beaten the broadcaster to the punch for now.

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Max is a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?'s sister site, TechRadar, in Australia. But being the wonderful English guy he is, he helps out with content across a number of Future sites, including What Hi-Fi?. It wouldn't be his first exposure to the world of all things hi-fi and home cinema, as his first role in technology journalism was with What Hi-Fi? in the UK. Clearly he pined to return after making the move to Australia and the team have welcomed him back with arms wide open.