BT Sport opts for Discovery merger rather than DAZN

DAZN has failed in its bid to acquire BT Sport, with the UK sports broadcasting arm of BT opting to continue merger talks with Discovery exclusively.

It was reported in January that DAZN was on the brink of a £500 million buyout of BT Sport. However, the BT Group has instead turned it down in favour of a 50/50 split merger with Discovery’s Eurosport UK division.

Exclusive discussions on the deal are now underway. The end result will potentially become a “new sport and entertainment offering for customers in the UK”.

Talks are expected to conclude in the next couple of months. BT Group and Discovery hope to have the new service up and running by the end of 2022, subject to approval by competition authorities.

“The proposed joint venture with Discovery, Inc. would create an exciting new sports broadcasting entity for the UK and would act as a perfect home for our BT Sport business,” said BT boss Marc Allera.

“With a shared ambition for growth, as well as the combination of our world class sports assets along with Discovery’s premium sports and entertainment content, our customers will benefit from even more content in more places.”