Premiership Rugby says its television agreement signed with BT – £38m a year for four seasons from 2013‑14 – will not only save the Heineken Cup but will widen the boundaries of the game in Europe. The £152m contract is a 50% improvement on the current deal with ESPN and Sky, which lasts until the end of the season, and includes the rights to all European matches played in England from the 2014‑15 season.

English clubs, along with their leading French counterparts, gave notice this year that they would withdraw from the Heineken Cup when the current deal expires at the end of next season. They want the way the European competitions are run to be altered radically.

The stance has been seen as a selfish one, designed to enhance the strong at the expense of the relatively weak, Scotland and Italy, but Premiership Rugby's chief executive, Mark McCafferty, who last month revealed his members would take part in an Anglo-French tournament if they pulled out of the Heineken Cup, denied that is the case.

"I want to emphasise that our objective is to remain in the Heineken Cup," he said. "The television deal we have agreed with BT will increase the size of the pot for everyone in Europe. Scotland and Italy will benefit: what we want is to increase the size of the cake rather than argue about slices.

"Our television contract will allow that and there could be a similar deal in France. Everyone benefits and far from looking to shrink the game in Europe, we propose to introduce a third competition to include teams from countries like Russia, Spain, Georgia and Portugal.

"We are ambitious for rugby in Europe. We do not want to go down the Anglo‑French Cup route, but if nothing changes it is something we would have to do. We have come up with a financial solution and now we have to get a rugby one."

English and French clubs gave notice because they want fewer teams to be involved in the Heineken Cup and participation to be based on league positions rather than each of the six nations who take part having a guaranteed minimum representation.

The tournament organiser, European Rugby Cup Ltd, meets in Dublin on Tuesday to discuss the proposed changes, but the television deal strengthens the English clubs' position. Under the current agreement, ERC negotiates the TV contract, which is held by Sky.

Premiership Rugby's exclusive deal with BT, which will next season start covering English Premiership football in place of ESPN, means that English club rugby's association with Sky, which started in 1994, will end after 19 years. By selling their European matches, the English clubs have effectively left ERC with just matches in the three Celtic countries and Italy with which to bargain.

McCafferty said his organisation is not looking to challenge ERC. "Our motivation is to increase the value of European competition," he said. "Maximising television and sponsorship deals so that the game grows in every country. Having someone like BT on board, a company worth nearly £19bn, can only be good. We are not being selfish, because every penny from the BT contract that relates to Europe will go into the pot to be shared by all. We have to be ambitious and find new markets. The game in Europe is growing and while it would be easy for us to pull out of the Heineken Cup and keep the BT money to ourselves, there is a real opportunity and I sense that others are seeing that."

McCafferty admitted it will be a wrench to part with Sky, which helped the clubs in the early years of professionalism by insisting that 30% of a £125m deal it negotiated with the Rugby Football Union went directly to the teams in the top flight.

"It is tough to split with them, but after paying more for football rights earlier this year, I do not think they were able to stretch to this kind of deal. We had discussions with everyone, but BT put a very attractive proposal on the table.

"It will mean an increase of 50% in television revenue for our clubs and means we can look at the salary cap [which is £4.5m plus add-ons] for the season after next. Our aim has for a long time been to put ourselves on a par with football's [second tier] Championship and we are well on our way."