BT Group and Warner Bros. Discovery to form a joint venture

Following its announcement of exclusive discussions on February, BT Group has agreed a set of definitive agreements with Warner Bros. Discovery to form a 50:50 joint venture company to create a new premium sport offering for the UK and Ireland, and to transfer the operating businesses of BT Sport to Warner Bros. Discovery.

By bringing together the sports content offering of both BT Sport and Eurosport UK, the joint venture will have one of the most extensive portfolios of premium sports rights including UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, the Premier League, Premiership Rugby, UFC, the Olympic Games, tennis Grand Slams featuring the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, cycling Grand Tours including the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, and the winter sports World Cup season.

Those customers who access BT Sport through BT directly, and the majority of BT TV customers, are set to receive discovery+, the non-fiction entertainment streaming service which is home to Eurosport’s live and on-demand streaming offer in the UK and Ireland, as part of existing subscriptions.

Both BT Sport and Eurosport UK will initially retain their separate brands and product propositions in the market before being brought together under a single brand in the future. BT Group (through its wholly owned subsidiary British Telecommunications) and Warner Bros. Discovery will enter into distribution agreements with the joint venture under which they will distribute the combined sports content to new and existing customers on their respective platforms and apps.

“As a global sports and entertainment broadcaster Warner Bros. Discovery is the perfect partner to work with us to take BT Sport to the next stage of its growth. We’re excited to be joining forces to bring the best of BT Sport together with Eurosport UK to create a fantastic new sports offer alongside all the entertainment that discovery+ has to offer BT customers,”  commented Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer division.

Andrew Georgiou, President and Managing Director at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, added: “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.”