The Premier League is set to remove title sponsors when the current deal with Barclays expires

Former BBC sport editor David Bond has not been given due credit for his work on the Alberto Salazar drugs storm

Gary Lineker's new BBC contract will also allow him to work for BT

They are expected to announce at a press conference the use of a new super high definition 4K platform

BT are set to charge viewers £5 extra per month to have full access to their European football, plus Premier League and rugby coverage

The start of next football season will be the pivotal moment when the two British networks, who have spent billions of pounds on TV sports rights, discover whether armchair viewers want to pay two subscription costs.

The nuclear battle between Sky Sports and BT Sport has been blurred for two years by BT giving away their hugely expensive sports content free to BT broadband customers.

But having paid £897million to capture the Champions League from ITV and Sky, BT will be announcing next week a £5-a-month extra cost for all those wanting access to European football plus Premier League and rugby coverage — including their broadband users.

Gary Lineker has signed a new five-year deal with the BBC which also allows him to work for BT in tandem

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi scores during the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich

BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey (right) talks with pundits Ian Wright (centre) and Rio Ferdinand (left)

BT are also expected to announce at a press conference at their Olympic Park headquarters that super high definition 4K will be rolled out as part of their exclusive CL broadcasts. Screening in 4K is now seen as the future for TV sports following Sky's costly failed experiment with 3D that reportedly cost £90,000-a-game.

For those without any broadband affiliation to either network, Sky Sports will be more than twice as expensive as BT, but has three times as many Premier League games live over a season. BT are gambling on the Champions League — hosted by Gary Lineker to be the game-changer.

Gary Lineker will be galloping away from the rest of the field as the best paid sports presenter on British TV, with his new five-year BBC deal, which also allows him to front BT's Champions League.

The length of Lineker's contract with BBC means he will be taking little or no pay cut on his current £2m-year salary over that term.

And with BT also paying Lineker a high six-figure salary, the former England striker will be earning well in excess of £3m-a-year — when you add in his Walkers Crisps advertising fees and extra punditry with NBC. The Beeb deal is mainly football-related and means Lineker will not be involved in the Olympics.

The extraordinary difference in how English football and horse racing view Qatar couldn't be more apparent than this week.

FA chairman Greg Dyke has been one of the most vocal in doubting that Qatar's 2022 World Cup vote was won fair and square — and the Arab state has had a toxic reputation within football since that December 2010 election.

In contrast, there's the possibility that a member of the Qatari ruling family will own the winning Derby horse and be invited to tea with the Queen at Epsom on Saturday. The Qataris are welcomed everywhere they go racing because of the petrodollars they are pouring into the sport.

FA Chairman Greg Dyke (right) talks with Prince William (centre) during the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 30

An important pointer for the next big sporting election in Beijing in August, ahead of the world athletics championship, is that Lord Coe's rival for the Presidency of track and field's ruling body IAAF, Sergey Bubka, is hedging his bets by putting himself forward for the vice-presidency as well. Coe is concentrating just on the top job.

BBC snub for Bond

It's a very poor show that the BBC Panorama programme that alleged double Olympic and world champion Mo Farah's coach Alberto Salazar was involved in doping Farah's training partner Galen Rupp, did not acknowledge the major work done on this investigation by former BBC sports editor David Bond.

The documentary was predominantly Bond's work over many months travelling around the world dedicated to this important drugs exposure. He left the BBC a year ago to join PR agency Milltown Partners as a director and a BBC spokeswoman said: 'David Bond was not involved in this programme.'

Former BBC sports editor David Bond was not given enough credit for his work by Panorama

Premier league clubs, awash with billions of pounds from TV rights, decided at their summer meeting that they can do without a title sponsor when the Barclays contract expires at the end of next season.

This follows the top flight turning down a £45m-a-year offer from drinks brand Diageo, having wanted £60m. The new approach will see more secondary partnerships but allow the competition to be known as The Premier League, a major statement in this sponsorship-driven age. It also makes it easier for the PL to communicate to their global audience.