(Bloomberg) — BT Group Plc is in exclusive talks to create a 50-50 sports joint venture with U.S. entertainment group Discovery Inc., dealing a major blow to rival suitor DAZN.
The phone and broadband carrier had been publicly exploring options for its pay-TV unit BT Sport for 10 months alongside in an effort to focus on its traditional role of telecommunications infrastructure.
The new venture would mean BT Sport customers get access to Discovery’s sport and entertainment content, including its discovery+ app, while Discovery would get access to BT Sport’s customer base and package of rights which includes English Premier League soccer.
BT is aiming for the new venture to be up and running by the end of the year subject to competition approvals, it said Thursday alongside third quarter results.
No financial terms were disclosed.
DAZN had been reported as one of the bidders for BT Sport. The Len Blavatnik-backed platform. whose name is pronounced “da zone,” is aiming to be a global sports streaming service.
It spent quickly to acquire rights to broadcast sports including soccer, boxing and Formula 1 motor racing across Europe, Asia and the Americas. In 2019 it made a substantial operating loss and its latest accounts are overdue according to the U.K.
companies registry.
“We remain fully committed to growing our business and investing in the U.K., as you will see in the near future” said DAZN chairman Kevin Mayer in an emailed statement.
“On this occasion however, the deal for BT Sport became uneconomical for DAZN. However, we respect that BT chose a different strategic path, and wish BT, BT Sport, and Discovery all the best for the future.”
London-based BT introduced its sports broadcasting service in 2013 and owns rights to European Champions League and some English Premier League soccer.
The deal involves approvals from Europe’s biggest pay-TV platform, Comcast Corp.’s Sky, because it shares a cross-licensing arrangement with BT.
Lazard Ltd. advised BT on the process.
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