Technology

Britain’s BT still in the game with Discovery sport tie-up

Premier League soccer and other services maintained after merging with Eurosport

Shares in BT were trading down 4.3 per cent in afternoon trade. Photograph: BT/PA Wire

Thu Feb 3 2022 - 15:47

Telecoms group BT said it would merge its sports television division with Discovery's Eurosport, enabling it to retain Premier League soccer and other sports for customers while sharing the burden of expensive broadcast rights.

BT, a former British telecoms monopoly, moved into sport in 2013 when it beat Rupert Murdoch's Sky to Champions League rights, hoping that exclusive content would help it stem broadband customers losses.

Some investors, however, have fretted about funding volatile sports rights, particularly when BT is spending billions on rolling out fibre broadband and Amazon, DAZN and others have joined the fray.

The company said last year it was considering options for the unit, including an outright sale.

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Shares in BT were trading down 4.3 per cent in afternoon trade as it lowered its outlook for full-year revenue from broadly flat to down 2 per cent due to the impact of Covid.

Revenue also fell 2 per cent in the nine months to end-December to £15.68 billion (€18.7 billion), with declines in global and enterprise partly offset by growth in the Openreach network.

Chief executive Philip Jansen said, however, that cost savings meant it was keeping its adjusted earnings target of £7.5 billion to £7.7 billion this financial year and more than £7.9 billion next year unchanged. – Reuters

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