BT Group

May 12, 2022

BT boots sport TV arm into new joint venture with Warner Bros Discovery The new JV will have broadcast rights for the next few years' UEFA Champions League, the Premier League, Premiership Rugby, the Olympic Games, tennis grand slams, the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and other pro cycling races BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) has agreed spin its BT Sport broadcast arm into a new 50-50 joint venture the newly merged Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) , which owns Eurosport. The deal, which had been mooted by BT back in February , would create a consumer sport TV offer with a wide portfolio of broadcast rights for the coming years, including UEFA Champions League, the Premier League, Premiership Rugby, the Olympic Games, tennis grand slams, the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and other pro cycling races. While the FTSE 100 company will retain a 50% interest in the JV, the US company will have a call option to buy BT's stake at specified points in the first four years of the JV and at a price to be determined. BT will receive an initial £93mln from Warner Bros Discovery and up to £540mln in an earn-out from the joint venture, either in four years time or if Warner buys out its half of the JV in that time. As part of the new arrangement, BT said its customers will be able to watch sport via the Discovery+ streaming service as part of their existing subscriptions, with both BT Sport and Eurosport brands continuing to be used for now before a single brand is created in the future. Discovery completed a merger with Warner Bros last month.