FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Report of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a - 16 or 15d - 16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the month of May 2006
09 May 2006
BRITISH SKY BROADCASTING GROUP PLC
(Name of Registrant)
Grant Way, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 5QD England
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports
under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F
Form 20-F X Form 40-F
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Yes No X
If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): Not Applicable
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit
EXHIBIT NO.1 Press release of British Sky Broadcasting Group plc
announcing Setanta Distribution Deal released on
09 May 2006
Press Release 9 May 2006
BSkyB and Setanta agree distribution deal for commercial customers
British Sky Broadcasting ("Sky") and Setanta Sports Holdings ("Setanta") have
reached an agreement that will allow pubs, clubs, sports centres and other
commercial premises to receive as part of their Sky subscription Setanta's live
coverage of FA Premier League football from August 2007.
This announcement follows last week's award by the FA Premier League of 92 live
matches per season to Sky and 46 live matches per season to Setanta for the
three-year period starting in 2007/08. By working together, Sky and Setanta will
ensure that all of Sky's commercial customers will be able to receive all 138
live Premiership matches without the need for separate subscriptions. The new
agreement builds on the existing agreement between Sky and Setanta under which
commercial customers receive Setanta's live coverage of the Scottish Premier
League as part of their Sky subscription.
In addition, Sky and Setanta have reached an agreement in principle under which
Setanta's Premiership coverage will also be available to residential customers
on the digital satellite platform. All residential digital satellite viewers
will be able to subscribe to Setanta's package of channels as a standalone
subscription service, following the agreement for Sky to continue to provide a
range of Conditional Access services to Setanta.
Richard Freudenstein, Sky's Chief Operating Officer, said: "This is good news
for Sky customers - both commercial and residential. We're pleased to have been
able to reach agreement with Setanta to ensure that Setanta's Premiership
coverage will be available on the satellite platform."
Trevor East, Setanta's Director of Sports, said, "Setanta's strategy is to make
our programming services available on all platforms. We're delighted to have
agreed a deal with Sky that will give us access to all Sky homes, as well as
distribution to their pubs and clubs, for both the FA Premier League and the
Scottish Premier League."
Continued investment in live sport by Sky has helped to achieve a bigger
audience for live sport in pubs and clubs than ever before. In the 2005/06
season, fans made an average of 6.1 million visits per week to watch Sky Sports
in pubs or clubs, up from 5.4 million per week the previous season.
end
Notes to Editors
Setanta
Setanta offers seven channels in the UK on both the Sky and cable platforms.
Subscribers to the Setanta Sports Pack receive over 1,000 live sports events
every year including football: from Scottish, Italian, French German and Dutch
premier leagues, rugby: featuring French Top14 and The Celtic League, and
American Sports: including NFL football, MLB baseball and NBA basketball. The
Scottish Premier League is also available on a pay-per-view basis on Freeview.
Setanta will be broadcasting 46 FA Premier League matches, commencing August
2007, within their Sports Pack on both satellite and cable platforms, ensuring
the widest possible distribution to viewers.
For further information:
Sky
Press:
Matthew Anderson Tel: 0207 705 3267 matthew.anderson@bskyb.com
Robert Fraser Tel: 0207 705 3036 robert.fraser@bskyb.com
Analysts / investors:
Andrew Griffith Tel: 0207 705 3118 andrew.griffith@bskyb.com
Robert Kingston Tel: 0207 705 3726 robert.kingston@bskyb.com
Setanta Sports
Victoria Palmer-Moore (Director, Powerscourt) Tel: 0207 236 5680
victoria.palmermoore@powerscourtmedia.com
Richard Brooke (Director, Setanta) Tel: 0207 766 8450
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
BRITISH SKY BROADCASTING GROUP PLC
Date: 09 May 2006 By: /s/ Dave Gormley
Dave Gormley
Company Secretary