General : ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news

[Raider999]

There is an article, in the Business/Money section of the Telegraph, which suggests that EPL rights which are due to be auctioned shortly may not go to open tender but just renewed with BT, Sky and Amazon possibly even at a reduced price.

[telegramsam]

Originally Posted by Raider999

There is an article, in the Business/Money section of the Telegraph, which suggests that EPL rights which are due to be auctioned shortly may not go to open tender but just renewed with BT, Sky and Amazon possibly even at a reduced price.

Maybe but having seen the greed of some Premier League clubs recently I wouldn't rule out it all still going to tender.

[telegramsam]

Just watched Rednapps Big Night Out, what a rip off of Peter Crouch,Save Our Summer! Anyone else agree?

[denphone]

l am not a fan of these shows full stop TG.

[japitts]

Originally Posted by Raider999

There is an article, in the Business/Money section of the Telegraph, which suggests that EPL rights which are due to be auctioned shortly may not go to open tender but just renewed with BT, Sky and Amazon possibly even at a reduced price.

Football's the wrong-shaped ball for me, but I guess this is potentially a win-win for everyone.

PL avoid the possible reduction in rights values, broadcasters get to renew at a small discount.

Back with the right-shaped ball, it's gone awfully quiet on the 6Nations TV deal, which I assume means that at least one out of Sky or BT is putting in a serious bid.

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Raider999

There is an article, in the Business/Money section of the Telegraph, which suggests that EPL rights which are due to be auctioned shortly may not go to open tender but just renewed with BT, Sky and Amazon possibly even at a reduced price.

You mean there’s no queue of streamers waiting to blow them out the water?

Colour me surprised.

[1andrew1]

Could DAZN or Disney acquire BT Sport or take a stake in it?

BT is in talks with Amazon, Disney and others to offload a stake in its television arm, The Telegraph can reveal, as the pandemic casts doubt over the future of sport.

The telecoms operator has appointed the investment bank Lazard to explore a partial sale of BT Sport as it focuses on upgrading Britain’s broadband network.

It is understood that BT is in talks with potential partners including Amazon, Disney and Dazn, an international sports streaming venture funded by Sir Leonard Blavatnik, the Ukraine-born billionaire.

A British broadcaster is also involved in the discussions and potentially leading the bidding, City sources said.

BT has a longstanding partnership with ITV, although has also worked with Channel 4 and the BBC. Any traditional broadcaster could seek to show more top-flight football on terrestrial television.

The same source said Dazn, which recently agreed a sports broadcasting partnership with BT’s Italian equivalent, was “most keen”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business...roadband-push/

[carravetta]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Sky bid for BT Sport, could be too good of an opportunity to pass.

I also would not rule out beIN Sports

[Richardr]

Originally Posted by carravetta

I wouldn’t be surprised if Sky bid for BT Sport, could be too good of an opportunity to pass.

They won't be allowed to buy it for regulatory reasons.

[telegramsam]

Originally Posted by Richardr

They won't be allowed to buy it for regulatory reasons.

Virgin might though?

[1701-e]

Originally Posted by telegramsam

Virgin might though?

With all that cash they have lying around? Dazn must be favourite. How this will impact on the special arrangements with Virgin should be interesting.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by telegramsam

Virgin might though?

Can't see a benefit. Viirgin Media's strategy of investing in infrastructure over content is now being adopted by BT. Let others fight over sports rights.

[jfman]

I wonder if a competition issue is really there to prevent Sky buying a share in BT Sports.

After all there's a plethora of sports streamers with deep pockets out there just chomping at the bit to enter the market. So would they really have significant market power?

Minor tweak of OFCOM regulation and say, a 10-15 year deal with Virgin (by which time linear television will be dead anyway ) and job done.

[spankysmagicpian]

Wouldn't Amazon love having a perm channel on tap? Anyone with Prime gets it free and they'd pack the breaks with Amazon adverts.

Disney however already have ESPN so likewise..anyone with a Disney+ sub gets the channel free.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by carravetta

I wouldn’t be surprised if Sky bid for BT Sport, could be too good of an opportunity to pass.

I also would not rule out beIN Sports

My thoughts below, in conclusion Disney or DAZN.

• Amazon - not a heavy investor in sport as additional rights costs could not be covered by the Prime subscription.
• BeIN - have reduced their investment in Europe in recent years and becoming more financially prudent. Unlikely.
• DAZN - have recently signed up Matchroom Boxing in the UK so could be tempted to add BT's range of sports to make a full-scale sports offering. Have partnered with Telecom Italia in Italy so could be tempted to do the same with BT in the UK.
• Discovery - would make a nice addition to Discovery + and also its Eurosport channels which are more prominent outside the UK. But traditionally financially prudent so unlikely to get into a bidding war.
• Disney - own 80% of ESPN whose brand is licenced to BT. Would make a great addition to Disney+ and in return, could offer Disney + to BT.
• Premier Sports - could only afford to invest if in collaboration with a financial investor so bring less to the party. Unlikely.
• Sky - can't really see what's in it for them, apart from driving up the price for other buyers... which also has the side-effect of driving up analysts' valuations of Sky Sports.