Broadcaster has secured rights to 38 live Premier League matches, British rugby union and the women's tennis tour
BT Sports presenter Jake Humphrey: 'Premier League football has to be more widely available.'
BT Sport, the new entrant into the pay TV market that plans to take Sky Sports head on, will offer its channels "as good as free" to existing customers in an aggressive bid to challenge the incumbent's two decades of sport broadcasting dominance.
The broadcaster is expected finally to unveil details of its pricing plan and consumer proposition at an event at its Olympic Park studios , but it is understood that existing BT Broadband customers will be offered a substantial discount as it attempts to use its two new sport channels to woo new customers.
Jake Humphrey, the presenter poached from the BBC to anchor coverage of the 38 live Premier League matches per season, for which it will pay £738m over the next three years, said that part of its mission was to democratise coverage of the top flight and make it more affordable for those who feel priced out by Sky's stranglehold on the best games.
"The important thing for me is to make it as widely and easily available as possible. To me, Premier League football has to be more widely available," he told the Guardian. "It's the national game, it's the league in which our national team plays. People need to be able to get it as good as free. We want to make it as accessible as possible."
In addition to its Premier League football rights, BT has secured all the live rights to domestic rugby union and the women's tennis tour.
It has also bought the UK operations of ESPN, which gives it the rights to the FA Cup and Scottish football.
BT face an uphill battle to succeed where Setanta and ESPN have failed, but claim that the 18 "first pick" matches per season will make their two sports channels attractive to subscribers.
A war has already erupted between BT and Sky over the latter's refusal to take advertising for the new BT channels.
"We are happy to take Sky's advertising but they seem afraid of taking ours," said John Petter, managing director of BT Retail's consumer division, when he submitted a formal complaint to Ofcom. "It's like a rottweiler running away from a newborn puppy."
BT is confident that it can strike a deal with Sky to make its channels available through the satellite platform, but will offer big discounts to BT Broadband customers in a bid to counter Sky's relatively recent incursion into that market.
Humphrey said that BT's coverage would have a different feel from Sky's high-octane approach, and would aim to be more inclusive and family-friendly.
Clare Balding has also been hired to front a weekly sport talk show from its new studios on the Olympic Park, on which it has signed a 10-year lease.
Alfredo Garicoche, who is general manager of BT Infinity, BT Sport and TV Marketing, said that the company wanted to reward its customers: "We have had a large customer base from many years, who are loyal to us. We will imprint into this our own style and we hope people will love it.
"Our idea is to appeal to everyone. Our style is going to be different. We like to say it's sport with colour, sport with fun. More engaging and approachable, maybe. We like the word inclusive as well."