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BT is in late stage discussions to offload its 50% stake in TNT Sports to Warner Bros Discovery, its joint venture partner, according to a report from the Financial Times
Sources close to the matter suggest that a deal could be announced as soon as this week.
Such a timeline would align with BT’s upcoming full-year financial result, expected next month.
The move would mark the end of BT’s decade-long involvement in sports broadcasting, which began with the launch of BT Sport in 2013, as part of a broader strategy to drive uptake of its BT TV service. The platform went on to secure various broadcasting rights including Premier League football and Premiership Rugby.
These rights, however, made running the business hugely expensive. By 2022, BT was moving its focus away from sports content turning BT Sport into a joint venture with Warner Bros Discovery in 2022, under which BT Sport was rebranded as TNT Sports. TNT Sport would go on to absorb the UK arm of Eurosport at the start of 2025.
Despite this rebrand, the service continued to be a drain on BT’s finances, equating to a pre-tax loss of £187.6 million during the 2023/24 financial year.
As a result, reports back in April were suggesting that BT would be looking to encourage Warner Bros to exercise a buy-out option that runs until the end of next year.
The potential sale highlights BT’s continued shift away from non-core activities as it focuses on its connectivity and network operations. CEO Allison Kirkby, who took up the leadership role in February last year, has exited non-core markets (such as Ireland and Italy) to focus on the UK. Just last week, the company announced that it would spin out its remaining international operations into a new standalone division, the latest in a string of decisions to reduce its global footprint.
The company is also on a major cost-cutting drive. Last May, it hit a target to save £3 billion by 2025, a year early. This was mostly driven by the company’s ongoing job cutting programme that will see 55,000 jobs eliminated by the end of the decade.
Kirkby now says it will aim to repeat this, cutting a further £3 billion in costs by 2029.
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