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Telecoms and broadband giant BT is reportedly in “advanced talks” to sell its 50% stake in UK TV broadcaster TNT Sports, which was formerly known as BTSport before the operator retreated from pay TV. Existing partner Warner Bros Discovery would pick up the stake and use it to help support their plans for a new streaming service (yes.. another one, sigh).
Just to recap. BT officially rebranded BT Sport to TNT Sports throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland back in mid-2023. The move followed a 2022 deal between BT and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which resulted in a 50:50 Joint Venture (JV) company between BT Sport and Eurosport UK.
However, the above agreement also gave WBD an option to buy out BT before the end of next year, which the FT (paywall) reports is something that is now being pursued. The move would mark BT’s final exit from premium TV sports broadcasting, which wasn’t exactly a slam dunk for the operator (cash drain) and distracted them from their primary focus on broadband and digital networks.
Meanwhile, WBD itself is focused on preparing the way for their new streaming service – HBO Max – to launch in the UK during early 2026, which is expected to feature premium sports TV content and the usual foray of entertainment (related TV shows and movies etc.). But this will of course just add to the growing problem of content fragmentation, as yet another streaming service arrives to compete in an already crowded and increasingly expensive environment for consumers.
According to the newspaper, a deal could be announced as soon as this week, which would make sense as we’re expecting BT the release their next set of biannual financial results later in the week.