There's no doubt BT Sport have established themselves as the biggest contender to Sky Sports' 30-year dominance as Britain's kingpin of broadcasting the beautiful game and beyond..
Having wrestled the Champions League rights away from Rupert Murdoch's empire in 2014 it has forged it's reputation as a bonafide contender with their leading football coverage. The imminent fireworks ahead of the merger with Eurosport-backed Discovery will see them become TNT but that match won't be lit on that until the close season.
For all of BT's success in football and beyond, perhaps, the feeling is when the biggest Premier League encounters roll around it is Sky who will be airing it with their cornucopia of pundits in situ. But messrs Keane, Carragher and Neville will be on the couch tonight like much of the nation as Manchester City host Arsenal at the Etihad. The tale of the tape reads Mikel Arteta's underdogs are five points clear but they have played two games more than their storied opponents. The run of three consecutive draws for the Gunners leaves an unshakeable feeling of win or bust against Pep Guardiola's superstars.
So how has the biggest game - which brings with it a £160m loot for the eventual champions - ended up BT over Sky? Well, in truth, there was no battle to win as this encounter comes under category A (12.30pm Saturday kick-offs) and BT had first dibs in category G too with Sky earning first crack at B, C, D and E. It has been brought0 under the lights and beamed to a global audience as the rearranged fixtures are ticked off ahead of a pulsating finish to the richest league in the world.
BT, and many others, probably thought their marquee selection of their 52-game slate for the 22/23 season was Liverpool travelling to the Etihad last month. But Jurgen Klopp's side lost their sparkle and have been title afterthoughts since September. Now City vs Arsenal – the fourth consecutive time this game has landed on BT – will have a nation tuning into see if Arteta's upstarts can defeat the English team of their generation and strengthen their bid of a first Premier League title in 19 years.
The revolution will be televised; just not where you usually find it.
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