Discovery and BT in exclusive talks over joint sports venture that would include BT Sport and Eurosport

[davieG]

https://talksport.com/football/1033972/

 

US TV giant Discovery has entered into exclusive talks with BT for a joint venture that would include BT Sport, which has the rights to the Premier League and Champions League.

Discovery released a statement on Thursday saying the companies have entered into talks and aiming for a 50/50 venture that would bring together BT Sport and Eurosport UK.

BT Sport would be included in the joint venture between BT and Discovery

BT Sport would be included in the joint venture between BT and Discovery
This would combine a huge portfolio of sports rights which would include; Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, Olympic Games, tennis Grand Slams, cycling Grand Tours, Premiership Rugby and cricket.

“The new combined business would remain committed to retaining BT Sport’s existing major sports broadcast rights, while BT Sport customers would get access to Discovery’s sport and entertainment content, including the Discovery+ app,” BT said.

“The proposed joint venture with Discovery Inc. would create an exciting new sports broadcasting entity for the U.K. and would act as a perfect home for our BT Sport business,” said Marc Allera, CEO of BT Consumer.

“With a shared ambition for growth, as well as the combination of our world-class sports assets along with Discovery’s premium sports and entertainment content, our customers will benefit from even more content in more places.”

Discovery have a portfolio of sports rights in the UK, including the Australian Open
The news will be a blow for sports streaming giant DAZN, who had been targeting a deal to buy BT Sport as part of its expansion in the UK.

DAZN chairman Kevin Mayer said: “Over the past year, we at DAZN have driven excellent momentum across our business, including recent wins of premium local football rights with LaLiga in Spain, Serie A in Italy and Bundesliga in Germany.

“We remain fully committed to growing our business and investing in the UK, as you will see in the near future. On this occasion, however, the deal for BT Sport became uneconomical for DAZN.

“However, we respect that BT chose a different strategic path, and wish BT, BT Sport and Discovery all the best for the future.”

[Spudulike]

I'll probably ditch my BT Sport subscription as soon as we go out of Europe. Don't watch the other stuff apart from the occasional Premier League match.