BT Group Forms New Premium Sports Joint Venture With Warner Bros. Discovery, BT Sport
13/05/2022
Thursday, May 12, 2022 - 17:32
Print This Story
BT Group and Warner Bros Discovery have announced a new joint venture (JV) that will provide viewers in the UK and Ireland with access to both broadcasters' content. Going forward, both products will be rebranded under a new identity.
Following its announcement of exclusive discussions on 3 February 2022, 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.
It's not about swapping one for the other or replacing one with the other. It's actually additive; we're adding rights and we're adding capability and we're adding the strength of two global companies around what we're doing and that is of increased value
Speaking in a press conference, Andrew Georgiou, president and managing director, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, comments: Warner Brothers Discovery will take on the operating control and day-to-day functions of the joint venture. As part of that, the BT Sport team, who've done a fantastic job in building what is a premium sports product in the UK market, will join our team and we'll have one single team operating all platforms across both the Eurosport UK business and the BT Sport business.
By bringing together the sports content offering of both BT Sport and Eurosport UK, the JV will have an extensive portfolio 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 now receive discovery , the 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.
Continues Georgiou: We have to go through regulatory approval and so until that happens, we're not really at the start line and that's our next focus. But once that happens, then what will happen in the marketplace is pretty simple. Eurosports, UK and BT sports will remain as is for a period of time in what I call phase two. Then beyond that, we plan to bring the sports content from both businesses into a single new brand that we will launch into the marketplace.
Single new brand for bigger service
On the coming single new brand, Discovery Sports senior vice president of content and production, Scott Young, says that following on from Warner Bros.' recent announcement in March that it is going to combine Discovery and HBO Max content into a single product, he expects BT Sport to become part of that proposition.
To the average punter on the high street, who is Discovery? No one's really heard of Discovery and more to the matter, Discovery . So what's the branding of this entity going to be? And that's crucial to the future of this venture
Young explains: As we evolve over time, bringing the BT Sport and Eurosport UK content onto the same product is a really compelling consumer proposition because we have got a lot of fragmentation and we are saying to the consumer, actually, this is one product where you can get a lot of great genres of content in one place that can satisfy very many different members of every household.
I think that is a really big winning formula for us. So that is really exciting, Young notes.
On whether BT Sport should be concerned in any way that the brand loyalty and recognition the broadcaster has in the UK will be undermined by the new Discovery brand, which is less widely recognised in the country, BT Sport chief operating officer, Jamie Hindhaugh, says a resounding no , while Georgiou says: I think consumers are going to get a better value proposition [which] is ultimately what we're trying to do through this experience. It's not about swapping one for the other or replacing one with the other. It's actually additive; we're adding rights and we're adding capability and we're adding the strength of two global companies around what we're doing and that is of increased value. So I hope the fans who currently engage on either platform at the moment will see an improvement in what their perception is of a combined service and offering. That's ultimately our goal.
However, Paolo Pescatore, tech, media and telco analyst at PP Foresight, has a more cautious view on the plan to merge the content of both broadcasters under a single brand: To the average punter on the high street, who is Discovery? No one's really heard of Discovery and more to the matter, Discovery . So what's the branding of this entity going to be? And that's crucial to the future of this venture.
Simon Green [former head of BT Sport] and Jamie Hindhaugh have done a really great job of focusing on the BT Sport product and taking people to the heart of sports, from big screens to the living room and out and about on mobile devices, continues Pescatore. They will have to be very careful on how they manage this new entity; BT Sport is very much in people homes and hearts, but Discovery isn't. This future brand is a huge question mark - not for BT Sport, but for Discovery. Whereas BT Sport is very clear as a sports-focused service, when you look at Discovery, it's been hugely fragmented - with Discovery, Discovery , Eurosport, and now Warner Bro
LINK: | https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/bt-group-forms-a-new-premium-... |
See more stories from svg |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
26/04/2024
L3Harris Technologies Reports Strong First Quarter 2024 Results, Increases 2024 Profitability Guidance
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
What Makes A Network Resilient?
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports Launches New Free Streaming Channel
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Roku Streaming Homes Hit 81.6M
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
Sarah Farrell Named General Manager Of Pinewood Toronto Studios
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and Myriad Solutions
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talent' award
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted Brie Clayton April 26, 2024 0 Comments Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024 0 Comments By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Hi Barbie! Mattel Launching First FAST Channels on Samsung TV Plus
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Marty Moe Named President Of Trusted Media Brands
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard Directs Jim Henson Documentary for Disney Plus
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
Kraken Skate Away From RSN Root Sports for Deals With Tegna, Amazon
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Warner Bros. Discovery Launches Olli First-Party Data Platform
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
The Equalizer' Gets Season 5 on CBS
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW Inks New Deal for Miss USA, Miss Teen USA
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Urging Young Viewers To Vote With Blunt Campaign
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Neil Gaiman's Sandman' Universe Expands With Dead Boy Detectives'
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective opens largest film and TV studio in the heart of London
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages By Matthew Corrigan Publi...
26/04/2024
Richard Perkett joins Amagi as chief product officer
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries ...
26/04/2024
Teradek Announces Smaller More Robust Built-in Antennas f...
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
Amagi Names Richard Perkett Chief Product Officer
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
NAB Board Election Results Announced
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
Mattel to Launch First FAST Channels on Samsung TV Plus
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
NextGen TV Launches In Portland, Maine
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...
26/04/2024
Rogers Inks Agreement to Deploy Comcast's Products and Technologies
TORONTO Rogers Communications has signed a 10-year agreement with Comcast to bring the latest Xfinity products and technology to Canadians....
26/04/2024
Calrec scoops third Argo win with NAB Show Product of the...
Calrec is very pleased to announce the benefits of its highly flexible approach to customer service has been recognized with a third award for the Argo range. T...
26/04/2024
New Adobe Photoshop with Advanced Generative Fill and Generate Image Brings New Superpowers to All
New Adobe Photoshop with Advanced Generative Fill and Generate Image Brings New ...
26/04/2024
Trends And Takeaways From NAB Show 2024
Trends And Takeaways From NAB Show 2024 Melanie Ciotti April 25, 2024 0 Comments NAB's Eric Trabb (right) awards SNS with two NAB Show Product of ...
26/04/2024
Sony's Ci Media Cloud Keeps NHRA Moving
Sony's Ci Media Cloud Keeps NHRA Moving Brie Clayton April 25, 2024 0 Comments Cloud-Based Media Asset Management and Collaboration Platform Accel...
26/04/2024
2024 Emerging Leaders Internship Program Open for Applications, Deadline May 31st
Capitol Broadcasting & Leadership Triangle Collaborate for Third Year Capitol B...
26/04/2024
MIX 101.5 Launches New YouTube Shows
The staff at CBC Radio have been hard at work creating several new features for listeners and viewers. Several debuts are taking place this spring. I have nev...
26/04/2024
Rohde & Schwarz presents spectrum dominance in all domains at AOC Europe
Rohde & Schwarz presents spectrum dominance in all domains at AOC Europe Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates the next generation of SIGINT/EW systems and sensor fusi...
26/04/2024
MCine Mauritius is to use Qube Wire for all future DCP deliveries across their exhibition chain on the Island
MCine Mauritius is to use Qube Wire for all future DCP deliveries across their e...
26/04/2024
Skeem Saam' May Spoiler: Has Lehasa killed Khwezi?
Skeem Saam' May Spoiler: Has Lehasa killed Khwezi?The Skeem Saam' May teasers mention Lehasa being apologetic about killing someone. Is it his baby mam...
26/04/2024
Skeem Saam: Thursday's episode, 25 April 2024 [video]
Skeem Saam: Thursday's episode, 25 April 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African s...
26/04/2024
Prison Journalism: Some issues to consider
Prison Journalism: Some issues to considerWesley Leong was incarcerated at the age of 15 in 1996 at Pollsmoor Prison. He is currently part of Restore's rese...
26/04/2024
Tonight on Scandal: A line is crossed and a mother starts to lose focus
Tonight on Scandal: A line is crossed and a mother starts to lose focusDon't miss Friday, 26 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Scandal! o...
26/04/2024
Ross Video Unveils Raiden: An All-New Data-Driven Weather Graphics System
Powered by XPression, the world's fastest-growing real-time motion graphics engine, Raiden combines data gathering, processing, and visualization tools to t...
26/04/2024
The Real-Time 6-to-12-String Guitar Converter
By Craig Anderton With this technique, when you play a standard 6-string electric guitar, you'll hear the rich, vibrant sound of a 12-string guitar. The pr...
25/04/2024
Inside the Archives: Highlighting the Importance of Preservation for the Festival's 40th Edition
Sundance Institute Founder Robert Redford during a press conference at the 1996 ...
25/04/2024
SNS Dealer Of The Year Awards: See The Full List Of Winners
alt= class=wp-image-12361 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-booth-2024-960x540-1.jpg/> Set against a vibrant backdrop of innovation and collaboratio...
25/04/2024
Trends And Takeaways From NAB Show 2024
alt= class=wp-image-12356 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-mod-win-960x540-1.jpg/>NAB's Eric Trabb (right) awards SNS with two NAB Show Product...
25/04/2024
Peacock Subs Jump 55% YoY to 34M in Q1 2024
PHILADELPHIA Comcast beat earnings estimates in its Q1 2024 financial report, as streaming losses continued to decline and Peacock's paid subscribers spiked...
25/04/2024
Seattle Kraken Inks Deals with Tegna and Prime Video
SEATTLE The Seattle Kraken have inked new multi-year agreements with Tegna and Prime Video that will expand access to their games over broadcast stations and st...
25/04/2024
Opinion: charting a cloud driven future
M2A Medias Matt Hughes asks, is it time for news broadcasting to shift to the cloud? By Contributor Published: April 25, 2024 M2A Media's Matt Hughes ...
25/04/2024
Cintel Scanner G3 HDR+ Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glory
Cintel Scanner G3 HDR Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glo...