Warner Bros Discovery now co-own BT Sport and coverage of the English top flight will move to a new brand
Broadcasts of the English Premier League are set to air on a whole new channel starting next season after Warner Bros Discovery's completed takeover of BT Sport.
The US-based media conglomerate now co-own the sports network alongside original owner BT Group and runs all BT Sport operations. WBD will merge BT Sport with their other property Eurosport after a merger was finalised and authorised by the relevant bodies late last year.
BT Sport currently run five channels and Eurosport two but reports suggest that Warner Bros Discovery are looking to reduce that number.
It is already known that WBD will get rid of the BT Sport brand altogether, rebranding those channels under the new name TNT Sports, based on their US sports channel of the same name.
Therefore, Premier League matches will air on a new channel starting from next season.
Sky Sports still own the rights to the majority of Premier League games but the newly founded Warner Bros Discovery Sport Europe holding company has taken over BT Sport will retain its rights until the current Premier League deal ends in 2025.
Premier League bidding war on the horizon
BT Sport has been showing Premier League games for close to ten years but it is by no means certain that its new owner Warner Bros Discovery will continue to own a slice of the pie when the new rights cycle begins.
The Premier League is set to open the bidding process later this year with a number of new parties interested in jumping in to the mix, including streaming giants DAZN and Apple TV.
Sky Sports has been the major broadcaster since the formation of the league in 1992, but will face stiff competition for the next round of TV rights which will apply to the 2025/26 season and onwards, with WBD, DAZN, Apple TV, Amazon and others likely to make bids.
Warner Bros Discovery will however remain the home of UEFA competitions in the UK until 2027, including the UEFA Champions League. It is unknown what channel will air these matches, Eurosport, TNT Sports or another brand.
The future of BT Sport
Things are unclear for current BT Sport staff with talk of redundancies and relocations but from a consumer point of view many things will remain the same, apart from the change of brand name.
BT Sport's commentary and pundit teams will stay on as they have contracts with the Premier League for future seasons.
The biggest question right now is what will happen to the production of those broadcasts. With a new combined workforce of former BT Sport and current Eurosport employees, the Premier League could be about to get a fresh coat of paint.
All will become clear when BT Sport becomes TNT Sports in July 2023 and begins airing Premier League matches from the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
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