-and cricket on TV if Ofcom rule against Sky Sports
BT is threatening a TV sports price war that could bring significant savings for viewers.
The plan hinges on a forthcoming decision by regulator Ofcom on the amount Sky charges rivals like BT and Virgin for its premium sports and movie channels.
Ofcom, under pressure to order cuts, is expected to make its decision tomorrow, although it will not be made public immediately.
Price war: BT could slash the price of Sky Sports to ?15-a-month as early as the start of the next football season
Sky's monopoly of top-flight sport means fans are forced to pay around ?25 a month to follow their heroes in the Premier League or cricket and rugby. BT has suggested it could offer the sports services for around ?15 a month - a saving of ?120 a year and below Virgin's current price.
The company said it would hope to introduce a new price structure from the start of the 2010/11 football season.
There are concerns, however, that the regulator's attempts to crack down on Sky's high charges could be derailed by political considerations.
It is believed the Tories might scrap Ofcom if they won the election and rip up the move against Sky's charges.
David Cameron's party recently won the endorsement of Rupert Murdoch, who controls a media empire including Sky, but denies that any deal exists.
Currently, Sky has 9.5million subscribers, Virgin 3.7million and BT Vision just 436,000.
BT is threatening a TV sports price war that could bring significant savings for viewers.
The plan hinges on a forthcoming decision by regulator Ofcom on the amount Sky charges rivals like BT and Virgin for its premium sports and movie channels.
Ofcom, under pressure to order cuts, is expected to make its decision tomorrow, although it will not be made public immediately.
Price war: BT could slash the price of Sky Sports to ?15-a-month as early as the start of the next football seasonSky's monopoly of top-flight sport means fans are forced to pay around ?25 a month to follow their heroes in the Premier League or cricket and rugby. BT has suggested it could offer the sports services for around ?15 a month - a saving of ?120 a year and below Virgin's current price.
The company said it would hope to introduce a new price structure from the start of the 2010/11 football season.
There are concerns, however, that the regulator's attempts to crack down on Sky's high charges could be derailed by political considerations.
It is believed the Tories might scrap Ofcom if they won the election and rip up the move against Sky's charges.
David Cameron's party recently won the endorsement of Rupert Murdoch, who controls a media empire including Sky, but denies that any deal exists.
Currently, Sky has 9.5million subscribers, Virgin 3.7million and BT Vision just 436,000.
