BT inks rock concert TV deal

BT isn't due to unveil its much hyped TV service until autumn, but it's still managing to string out a series of announcements about content deals. Still, it beats contemplating what might happen if Carphone really does kick off a broadband price war.

So far, BT's signed up kids' favourites Bob the Builder and Pingu to help plug its BT Vision service, along with the National Geographic Channel, BBC Worldwide, Paramount and Warner Music Group.

Now it's hooking up with music outfits i-concerts and Eagle Rock to offer more than 500 concerts and performances by artists such as Franz Ferdinand, Keane, Alice Cooper, and The Who.

BT Television Services chief exec Dan Marks said: "BT Vision will offer a comprehensive music service with programming to suit all tastes and all available on demand. These important deals will allow us to bring concerts that would otherwise be very difficult - or impossible - to find on broadcast television to a wide audience on attractive terms and with high quality picture and sound."

Of course, had BT's head of entertainment Andrew Burke not left the company recently, it might have been his name in the press release announcing how happy the telco is to have signed up this latest batch of content providers.

Burke left recently amid speculation of a rift over the direction of BT's TV service and reports that it is suffering technical issues, something BT has denied. ®