BT's deal with ESPN is worth "low-tens of millions" of pounds, with some of the money to be paid at the completion of the transaction at the end of July, a BT spokesman said.

WSJ: ESPN Sells U.K. Channels to BT

But full competition did not hit the British market until March 1991, when the government issued a white paper on telecoms policy, which effectively brought to an end the duopoly shared by BT and Mercury.

BBC: BT: From telegraphs to the internet