Following the news that BT Sport and Discovery have entered a period of exclusivity regarding a joint venture,

Conrad Wiacek, Head of Sport Analysis at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“Discovery entering into a joint venture with BT Sport ahead of an eventual purchase will not only change the shape of sports broadcasting, it is a legitimate threat to Sky’s dominant market share position in UK and European sports broadcasting. Discovery, which already owns the global media rights to the Olympic Games, is now likely to take control of one UK Premier League rights package, as well as exclusive rights to show the UEFA Champions League in the UK worth a combined $1bn annually.

“With Comcast now owning Sky and Discovery taking on BT Sport, the UK may become the first battle ground in the US giants’ plans to become the dominant European sports broadcaster. With Sky having an established presence in multiple European territories already, and BT Sport owning the Champions League rights in the UK until 2024, Discovery will be looking to maximise subscribers through its Discovery+ platform and Olympic coverage.

“However, the big loser here is DAZN, which has been trying to establish a UK presence ahead of a possible IPO. Without BT’s subscriber numbers, the ‘Netflix of Sport’ now faces an uncertain future given the platform has been largely funded by billionaire Leo Blavatnik up to this point. Without a presence in one of the world’s largest sports rights markets, the viability of the entire platform may now be in question.”