Middlesbrough launches Boro TV on ntl

Football club Middlesbrough have launched a dedicated television channel on ntl.

Boro TV Extra, which launched yesterday, is available for £3.99 a month on channel 770 (digital) and channel 8 (analogue). The station is free-to-view for the first few weeks on air.

"It's fantastic news for Middlesbrough supporters," said the club's chairman, Steve Gibson. "Through our unique relationship with ntl we were the first club in the country to have our own cable TV programme three years ago.

"This new ground-breaking development shows that MFC and ntl are providing a very special service for our fans."

The channel takes advantage of new rules governing the ownership of the TV rights to Premiership games, giving the clubs themselves ownership of footage 48 hours after the final whistle.

Other programming includes phone-ins with the players, up-to-the-minute club news and The Roary Roadshow for young supporters.

Peter Wilcock, founder of Boro TV, said: "Boro fans are in the enviable position of already having a TV channel dedicated to their team so the means of broadcasting all the matches is already in place.

"That, together with the fantastic relationship Boro TV had developed with the club, paved the way to make this dream a reality as soon as the tight broadcast regulations were relaxed."

Malcolm Padley, ntl spokesman, added: "The change in rights is an interesting development for clubs and one way to maximise the footage value is to develop a TV channel. Other options would be putting it onto a web site for broadband users, and Middlesbrough is looking at that for its web site."