Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) on Monday unveiled plans to integrate its free-to-air sports network Eurosport into TNT Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland later this year.
The move will streamline the distribution of sports in the region, with live events and programming from Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 offered through TNT Sports, including the Tour de France cycling competition.
“Combining Eurosport and TNT Sports content in the UK and Ireland will enable us to offer a single, premium viewing experience for sports fans,” Scott Young, the Senior Vice President at WBD Sports Europe, said in a statement. “We know audiences are looking for a slightly simpler journey on where to find the sport they love. This move will also continue to best deliver value for our leagues and federation partners, as we continue our 35 years plus commitment to investment and championing of sport on our screens.”
There are no plans to phase out Eurosport in other countries where the satellite channel currently broadcasts. In addition to the U.K. and Ireland, Eurosports broadcasts to more than 50 countries and television regions, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Eurosport shares live telecast rights to the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games with public service broadcasters in many of the countries where it operates, including in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was not clear if those rights will also move over to TNT Sports or if the broadcaster will have to renegotiate distribution at a later date.
Eurosport was originally launched as a joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting and the European Broadcasting Union in the late 1980s as a way to deliver live sports across the European continent. French broadcaster TF1 Group acquired the distressed channel in 1991 and merged it with domestic sports network Screensport. Discovery Communications, the predecessor to Warner Bros Discovery, acquired a share of Eurosport in 2012 before purchasing the rest of the network three years later.
WBD operates TNT Sports as a joint venture with BT Group, having rebranded the latter’s sports channels into its current identity in 2023.
