With the merger between BT Sport and Eurosport (which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) now official, customers are starting to see the benefits – and BT Sport subscribers can now get the Discovery+ streaming service at no extra cost.
Subscribers will be able to get Discovery Plus’ Entertainment+Sports pack, which includes lifestyle and factual content, as well as sports from Eurosport.
The additional sports content, which BT Sport subscribers will now get for free, includes the 2023 Australian Open and Roland-Garros tennis, more than 300 days of cycling – including the Tour de France – and every moment of the Olympic Games Paris in 2024.
The main caveat however is that only some BT Sport subscribers will get free access to Discovery+, depending on how they’re subscribed (see full details below).
Ironically, the Discovery+ app isn’t supported on the BT TV 4K Pro box – so customers will have to find other ways to use the app.
BT Sport And Discovery’s Merger Explained
BT Sport 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.
But in 2019, a monthly, contract-free streaming version of BT Sport was finally introduced, at a monthly cost of £25 (See our complete guide on how to watch BT Sport online – even for free).
Eurosport is a 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. it will feature one of the most extensive portfolios of premium sports rights, including UEFA Champions League, the Premier League, the Olympic Games, Premiership Rugby and more.
For now, BT Sport and Eurosport UK are retaining their separate brands and product propositions. Therefore BT Sport and Eurosport continue to exist as two separate TV and streaming platforms (but with new owners behind the scenes).
In the future, the plan is to bring BT Sport and Eurosport/Discovery+ together under a single brand (with either an entirely new name, or one that uses/combines the old names in some way).
When that happens, BT Sport and Eurosport UK will no longer exist as separate brands, and customers will get the combined sports broadcasts as part of a single service.
In the US, there are even bigger plans – to merge Discovery+ with the HBO Max streaming service (which won’t be available in the UK until 2025, most likely).
How To Get Discovery+ Free On BT Sport
As part of the merger, it was long expected that BT Sport subscribers would be able to get Discovery+ and Eurosport for free – and that is now the case (BT TV also added the linear Discovery channel to its roster recently, along with some on-demand content from Discovery).
BT Sport subscribers can now get the Discovery+ Entertainment & Sport plan, which normally costs £6.99/month or £59.99/year – for free.
The plan includes Discovery’s entertainment/lifestyle content, as well as the Eurosport sports content.
There’s one major caveat, however: only BT Sport subscribers who subscribe via BT, EE or Plusnet can get the free Discovery+ subscription.
This means that if you’re paying for BT Sport through a different 3rd party – Sky or Virgin Media, for example – you won’t be entitled to the free subscription.
It’s worth noting that it doesn’t matter where you watch BT Sport – so you can be watching it on Sky, for example, and still get the free subscription – the important bit is that you’re paying BT Sport (or EE / Plusnet) directly, and not via your Sky / Virgin Media bill.
The free Discovery+ subscription will continue as long as you keep being a BT Sport subscriber.
To get the free Discovery+ subscription, you need to activate the subscription here, and then download the app to a supported device.
As for subscribers of the standalone BT Sport Monthly Pass, we’re told they will be getting the Discovery+ offer as well in the coming weeks – though we weren’t given an exact date.
How Can I Watch Discovery+?
Discovery+ is a streaming-only app, therefore it relies on your broadband connection.
Discovery+ is 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
The app is NOT available on the BT TV boxes, though BT is expecting to launch it on the TV 4K Box Pro and the TV Box Mini in the future.
I get it as I pay for BT sport as an add on with EE, it’s working fine on phone but can’t login on Sony Android TV app, just get the spinning circle forever!
This is absolutely wonderful. I pay for BT with Plusnet, I’ve just got it now and it’s great, truly much appreciated!! ❤️🙏🏼
This is exactly where companies will be successful, showing they actually care about customers will for sure catch on and is what will absolutely make these things not only a huge success but with longevity also!!
This is wonderful, thank you Or for a wonderful article and BT Sport for always providing such a wonderful service (which is why they are by far the best right now).
How did you get it to work?
Will I be able to get BT sport if I already have Discovery +?
Does not work with Plusnet.
No idea how to get it to work