Goodbye, BT Sport And Eurosport: Ten years after the service first launched in its current form, BT Sport is going to disappear – and turn into TNT Sports, as it merges with Eurosport into a new sports TV destination.
The new branding was announced today, several months after BT Sport and Warner Bros. Discovery/Eurosport announced a merger, which then formed a new joint venture.
BT Sport will change into TNT Sports in July 2023, and will move under the Discovery+ streaming service, where Eurosport also resides.
At that point, Eurosport will keep its branding and current service model (so will presumably continue to be available separately on pay-TV platforms such as Sky) – but at “some time in the future”, Eurosport will also be rolled into the new TNT Sports service (see full details below).
This will create a single streaming sports platform with a long list of broadcasting rights – including the Olympic Games, the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP and more.
BT Sport And Discovery’s Merger Explained
BT Sport currently broadcasts sporting events from the UK and around the world. For years, BT Sport was only available as an add-on to traditional pay-TV subscriptions like Sky, or BT’s own BT Broadband customers.
In 2019, a monthly, contract-free streaming version of BT Sport was finally introduced, at a monthly cost of £25. This month, the cost of the monthly pass jumped up to £29.99/month.
Eurosport is a long-running French sports TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which operates in more than 50 countries and holds the rights to many sporting events around the world.
Eurosport’s live linear channels are available on several pay-TV platforms in the UK (such as Sky and Virgin Media), as well as on the Discovery+ streaming service, while the on-demand Eurosport content is available primarily on Discovery+.
Discovery+ is a streaming service that launched in 2020, replacing Discovery’s Dplay service (which was totally free), with a combined offering of both free and “premium” channels.
The free (for everyone) tier on Discovery+ includes several Freeview channels, such as Quest, Really, HGTV and others, while the paid tiers add additional live premium channels, along with their on-demand content – Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC and more.
Back in May 2022, BT Sport and Discovery/Eurosport announced a merger, and a new joint platform was announced, that will combine the TV and streaming rights of both services.
Recently, Discovery+ was made available at no extra cost for most of BT Sport’s subscribers (except those who subscribe directly via Sky).
BT Sport Becomes TNT Sports
Until now, BT Sport and Eurosport UK have retained their separate brands and product propositions. Therefore BT Sport and Eurosport continued to exist as two separate TV and streaming platforms (but with new owners behind the scenes).
This will soon change – in several steps. The first step, in July 2023, will see BT Sport changing its name to TNT Sports.
While the name is unknown to UK audiences – Warner Bros. Discovery already uses the name TNT Sports in Latin America, and as a cable channel in the US.
At first, TNT Sports will continue to operate just like BT Sport – and will present the live sports rights carried by BT Sport today. Eurosport, in the UK and Ireland, will continue to be available in the same way as it is today.
But at a later date – Eurosport will also disappear and will be rolled into the new, combined TNT Sports service.
Furthermore, shortly before the 2023/2024 football season, Discovery+ will become the streaming home for sports fans, which most likely means the Monthly Pass BT Sport subscription will move over there as well.
Customers will then be able to join a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
TNT Sports And Discovery+ Pricing
Currently, the premium paid tier on Discovery+ in the UK has TWO separate plans: Entertainment (£3.99/month) and Entertainment + Sports (£6.99/month) – which also includes the content that used to reside on Eurosport Player (which was phased out as a standalone streaming platform some time ago).
Normally, customers can subscribe to Discovery+ either directly, or via Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, which also come in those two flavours (along with a 7-day free trial) –Discovery+ Entertainment and Discovery+ Entertainment + Sport.
Once BT Sport becomes TNT Sports, with its streaming version moving under the Discovery+ umbrella – we will most likely see a bundled price of Discovery+ entertainment, Eurosport and TNT Sports.
Pricing details haven’t been announced yet – but with BT Sport’s Monthly Pass currently priced at £29.99/month, the combined offer will most likely cost more than that – but we’ll have to wait and see.
How Can I Watch Discovery+ And TNT Sports?
Discovery+ is a streaming-only app, therefore it relies on your broadband connection.
And while TNT Sports will continue to be available on pay-TV platforms where BT Sport is currently available – its streaming version will move over to Discovery+ (as an add-on) after July 2023.
Therefore TNT Sports, along with Discovery+, will be available on most streaming devices sold in the UK, including:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Roku
- Google Chromecast
- Android / iPhone
- Apple TV
- Samsung Smart TVs
- Sky Q
- Sky Glass / Sky Stream
- Major web browsers
Curiously, the app is NOT available on BT’s own TV boxes, though BT is expecting to launch it on the TV 4K Box Pro and the TV Box Mini at some point in the future.
