Yahoo News report– Sky Sports held on to five of the seven live packages on offer, but BT Sports increased the number of games which will be shown on their channel from 2016-2019 from 38 games to 42.
The total value of the auction – which was extended into a second round after no packages were won outright – dwarfs the previous domestic rights package of £3bn for 2013-16, when BT Sport dramatically entered the picture by capturing two packages.
Sky have held the rights for Premier League football ever since the competition’s inception in 1992, originally paying £191m for the right to broadcast 60 games per season from 1992 to 1997.
However, after brief entries from Setanta, from 2007-10, and ESPN, from 2010-2013, BT have confirmed their status as major rivals to Sky by increasing their proposition in their second successful entry into the auction.
BT also have the exclusive rights to the Champions League from next season.
There are 14 additional games per season in the Premier League deal from 2016-2019 with most of these matches to be shown on Friday evenings in a new departure for the league.
The Sunday 4pm package remains the most attractive to broadcasters as it contains the most first picks, which is why the slot often showcases the biggest games in the Premier League.
Source: Yahoo News