BBC bags EPL highlights

The BBC has secured the rights to broadcast highlights of English Premier League (EPL) football until 2019, after fellow UK broadcaster ITV failed to bid.

The three-year deal, costing £204m (US$308m), comes after Liberty Global-owned Virgin Media asked the country’s media regulator Ofcom to suspend the auction of further rights until a probe into the selling process has been completed.

The BBC airs EPL highlights during the long-running Match of the Day programme on Saturday and Sunday nights. The new deal gives the pubcaster EPL highlights until the end of the 2018/19 football season.

Sky and BT currently share rights to televising the live games after agreeing a three-year deal in 2012 costing £3bn, which had ramifications across the UK’s pay TV industry. The bidding process for matches beyond 2016 is set to close in the next few weeks.