Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

DAZN in advanced talks to buy BT Sport, FT says

Published 21/09/2021, 12:35
Updated 21/09/2021, 13:11
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A BT Sport logo is displayed in an office in the City of London, Britain, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A BT Sport logo is displayed in an office in the City of London, Britain, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON (Reuters) -DAZN, the sports streaming service owned by billionaire Len Blavatnik, is in advanced talks to buy the sports television unit of Britain's BT to gain content including English Premier League soccer, the Financial Times said on Tuesday.

DAZN Chairman Kevin Mayer said last week he was "possibly" interested in BT Sport, telling a TV industry conference that he would "love to have EPL (Premier League) ultimately" and BT Sport was a "great business".

A BT spokesperson said the company was continuing to explore options for BT Sport, and all possibilities remained on the table, including a total or partial sale or retaining the business.

A spokesperson for DAZN declined to comment.

A source close to the negotiations said a deal was "not at the line yet", given the complexity of the rights and agreements involved, such as a reciprocal partnership with BT's rival Sky.

BT said in April it had put the unit on the block, and had appointed Lazard to explore options.

DAZN was high on analysts' lists of likely bidders, alongside broadcasters including Disney and ITV (LON:ITV).

In a blow to Sky Italia, DAZN in March secured the right to screen all Serie A soccer matches in Italy for the next three seasons for 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion).

The company is under fire, however, about its service. Some users have complained about interruptions to streams, and the national communications authority is monitoring DAZN's pledge to boost its infrastructure.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A BT Sport logo is displayed in an office in the City of London, Britain, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville

BT spent billions of pounds on Premier League and Champions League rights for BT Sport to take on Britain's dominant sports broadcaster Sky.

The company said in May that BT Sport had a clear market position and was performing well. But with its focus turning to building its fibre network, it was exploring options to continue growing the unit.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.