Additional Eurosport pop up channels

[Weerab1983]

This is probably linked to the article below

https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2024/07/08/eurosport-premium-offer-to-be-discontinued/

[ozsat]

If you have Sky - the Wimbledon tennis finals are live on Eurosport 4K with HDR too. BBC have had it for the past two weeks but Eurosport always get to shown the finals.

Viewers around the world are also being treated to the Tour de France with HDR.

[gomezz]

Most of this weekend's WSB coverage is not on the main Eurosport channels but is available using the Discovery+ app.

[zulu17]

Remembering the press release  announcement from BT (12 May 2022) on the joint venture (JV)

• BT Sport and Eurosport UK to be brought together to form a premium sports joint venture for customers in the UK & Ireland which will be owned 50:50 by BT plc and Warner Bros. Discovery.
• Warner Bros. Discovery and BT plc will each directly contribute, sub-license or deliver the benefit of their respective sports rights and distribution agreements for the UK & Ireland to the JV.
• The Transaction will deliver operational efficiencies through the transfer of the operating businesses of BT Sport to Warner Bros. Discovery.

There does seem to be a reluctance to use the former BT Sport extra linear TV channels for broadcasting  Eurosport UK sports rights which seems strange given the JV has these rights as well as the  former BT Sport rights and any newly acquired TNT sports.  The absence of Eurosport 4K content on either  EETV or  discovery+ also seems strange given the information in the press release.

[DarrenDev]

Eurosport and TNT Sports are different brands under different licences - I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be allowed to broadcast Eurosport licenced content on the TNT Sports channels.

[zulu17]

… sub licensing is included in the original communication

• Warner Bros. Discovery and BT plc will each directly contribute, sub-license or deliver the benefit of their respective sports rights and distribution agreements for the UK & Ireland to the JV.

the extra sport channels  operated by WBD  would seem to be the obvious place for broadcasting Eurosport live coverage of events that subscribers would expect to be on the linear channels,  This weekend the Tour de France  (Eurosport1)and Wimbledon final coverage (Eurosport 2) have displaced events like the live WorldSuperBikes. 

I think WBD have in the past also used DMAX  and Quest free to air channels for some sports programming (of Eurosport held rights events).

[DarrenDev]

Let me ask you a question then @zulu17 - why do you think they're not using the channels? Just to annoy subscribers?

[Bluemoon1]

Eurosport extra channels now live on Virgin.  No 4k for us... https://rxtvinfo.com/2024/olympic-channels-now-live-on-virgin-media/#google_vignette 

[zulu17]

@gomezz  the rugby sevens is already appearing in the linear channel schedules.First day of the Mens group stage listed on Eurosport 2 channels from 14.20 on wed 24th. Second Day  currently from 12.50pm on Thur 25th.

[scointer]

@zulu17  I agree it is bizarre that discovery have a supposedly joint venture with BT but hold back on any content above standard. I wonder if they have some agreement with Virgin that is kept quiet as they seem to have a full content and BT and Sky are picking up the scraps via the app.

my guess is Discovery just wanted the premier league/ champions league rights which is why they went for the supposedly joint venture but are actually doing deals for extended content with others and not really committing to EETV at all or the delivery method for EETV is more complex than they can be bothered with.