Warner Bros. Discovery and British telecoms giant BT Group have completed negotiations and will merge their sports media units into a 50/50 joint venture between BT Sport and Eurosport in the UK and Ireland.
When the two sides announced an exclusive discussion of the deal in February, ahead of Discovery’s merger with WarnerMedia, the company said the company would “merge with BT Sport and Eurosport UK, which have a large portfolio of premium sports rights, including the Olympic”. Games, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Bicycle Grand Tours, Tennis Grand Slams, Winter Sports World Cup Season and Premier Rugby.
The JV, which is also owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and BT, will retain the BT Sport and Eurosport brands in the UK and Ireland. In the statement, the companies disclosed BT Sport’s loss of US$271 million (2,222 million) and its assets of US$413 million (9,339 million) as of March 31, 2010 and had an operating profit of US$19.5 million. million (US$ 16.16 million) in the year.
The companies said customers who access BT Sport directly through BT, and most BT TV users, will receive the Discovery+ home streaming service to receive Eurosport’s live and on-demand streaming offering in the UK and the UK. Ireland as part of . subscriptions.
Warner Bros. Discovery and BT also disclosed the terms of the joint venture agreement. Both Warner Bros. Discovery and BT will directly contribute, license or provide their respective sports rights and distribution agreements in the UK and Ireland. BT Sport’s operating businesses are Warner Bros. It will be delivered to Discovery. BT will receive $114 million ($93.93 million) in revenue from Warner Bros. Discovery and approximately $659 million ($40.54 billion) in JV revenue, subject to certain conditions. And BT plc will retain a 50% stake in the JV and Warner Bros. Discovery will receive a call option in lieu of BT’s stake in the JV, to be implemented at specific points in the first four years of the JV.
BT, which has rights deals for English Premier League football, English Premier League rugby and cricket, said last spring it wanted to focus on its core telecoms business and is in talks with potential partners for the future of BT Sport. , which generates losses. . Sports broadcaster DAZN, chaired by the former CEO of Walt Disney Co. Kevin Meyer, whose parent company is Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, has been widely seen as a potential buyer for BT Sport. Earlier reports also said Disney, Amazon and British television giant ITV were among the other potential claimants.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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