I've been pretty impressed with BT Sport's coverage this season. For Premier League games and the European games.
It's less sensationalist then Sky and more insightful than what you would get on MotD for example. Partly because of the pundits they have on but mainly because of the anchor/host. Gary Lineker is good on the European shows and is pretty much the best around at that type of thing for football in the UK. I've been impressed with Jake Humphrey's though. More so he handling of the Saturday thing they do after the game when they talk through a wider range of subjects around football. Also think the pundits have been good and open on this. Owen Hargreaves and Martin Keown in particular were good on this - Owen Hargreaves bit on injuries and giving up the game was an excellent insight. I actually think Lampard, Ferdinand and Gerrard are decent enough pundits also.
I think their coverage is excellent lately also. I probably think too much about football coverage, being a Liverpool fan in Ireland means that the vast, vast majority of my football watching experience is done through television. In GAA I go to pretty much all the Dublin games so rarely watch the coverage unless it's a big win then I might watch it back for the pure pleasure. So in that way I can understand why a match going Liverpool fan might not care what BT or Sky are saying.
BT though seem to not take themselves too seriously. They don't constantly try and fit in catchphrases like "It's Liiiiiiiive" and when there is something they're trying to shoe horn in there is always a sense of self awareness from the likes of Lineker and Humphreys.
Premier League Tonight is usually a good hour of football chat, sometimes straying away from the day's football action and can deliver some really good insights. I find it's best when it's Ferdinand, Lampard and one other, sometimes Gerrard.
After the first leg of the Champions League quarter final I watched the RTE analysis and recorded BT's. The difference was amazing. RTE was all about City, all about Guardiola, barely anything about the victors that night. Whereas BT mentioned both and compared both, praised Liverpool and criticized City. I think there was one thing that summed up the difference, a small but significant one for me. RTE kept saying that City had no tempo, no passion, no desire but on the other hand BT said that City couldn't match Liverpool's tempo, passion and desire.
It's disappointing that the European Football Show was taken off the air but to be honest Laurens, Honigstein and Horncastle are on so many podcasts I listen to that I don't feel I'm missing it as much as I thought I would and the matches are still on there.
I think the co-commentators for the European football are also rather good. Don Hutchinson and Jim Beglin always do a good job. Maybe it's because I've no vested interest in the matches that I don't nit pick on things they say and it's very unlikely for them to really have a bias for or against another team but the analysis is usually balanced and without hysteria. I also enjoy when usually Premier League based commentators and co-commentators do European games because it gives them a taste of something else. Don Hutchinson was on the Friday Night Social on 5Live tonight and knew much more about Roma than anyone else there because of his commentary work.
Anyways, I get BT for free with my TV package and I'm delighted I do. Sure Sky has more games but I'd keep BT if offered a swap.