BT Sports and Eurosport will become unified in a new deal that will merge sports broadcasting operations in the UK and Ireland.
It looks like Sky Sports may actually have some competition, as BT will be merging with Warner Bros Discovery, with the aim of combining the BT Sport platform with Eurosport UK.
The merged group will have the rights to several sports properties in the UK, including the UEFA Champions League, Olympic Games and the Premier League.
That doesn’t even cover the Eurosport staples that BT will take on, with the winter sports world cups, tennis slams, Premiership Rugby and cycling grand tours falling all falling under the new combined entity.
Both the companies will have a 50% stake in the merged group, with a press release stating that the business operations of BT Sport will be transferred to Warner Bros Discovery, which will pay £93 million now and up to £540 million if certain conditions are met.
It’s expected that the deal will go through by the end of 2022, at which point both BT and Warner Bros Discovery will enter into discussions about the distribution of the sports content, namely which respective platform will air what sports.
This means that BT TV and BT Sport subscribers will gain access to Discovery+ as part of their existing subscriptions, meaning they will be able to access more content and more sports for no additional cost.
Andrew Georgio, president and managing director of Warner Bros Discovery Sports Europe, said: “We are excited to bring fans a new premium sport offering that brings together everything they love from BT Sport and Eurosport UK.”
“Combining this with our growing portfolio of premium entertainment content promises to deliver consumers a richer and deeper content proposition, not only providing greater value from their subscriptions but bringing sport to a wider entertainment audience,” Georgio went on to say.
You might like…
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
