LONDON, England (Reuters) – Pay-TV group Sky (SKYB.L) has agreed to pay £4.2 billion to show 126 live English Premier League matches a season from 2016 to 2019, paying well above the expected amount to beat fierce rival BT (BT.L) to the best games.

Following one of the most highly anticipated broadcast auctions of recent times, the Premier League said Sky had won five of the seven packages of rights, with BT winning the last two. BT will pay £960 million for their three-year contract.
“Sky will pay £1.4 billion per annum for each of the three years of the new agreement, representing an 83 percent increase over the cost of the existing contract,” Sky said.
Combined, the two firms will pay £5.2 billion for the three-year rights deal, well above the £4 billion that analysts had expected and a 68 percent rise on the £3 billion the two firms paid for the current three-year deal.
After three days of bidding, Sky won the key Sunday afternoon games, while BT will show Saturday evening matches.