The lucrative nature of the BT Sport TV deal that provides millions in annual revenues for both Everton and Liverpool won't be impacted despite the broadcaster confirming their intentions to create a new business.
BT Sport have partnered on broadcast rights with the Premier League since the channel was formed in 2013 and, along with Sky TV and Amazon Prime Video, rolled over the domestic rights for another three years last year, a move that gave some much-needed financial certainty to Premier League club owners.
The domestic deal is worth some £5bn per season, with BT Sport paying around £385m per season to broadcast 52 Premier League games, as well as being the British rights holder for the hugely lucrative UEFA Champions League and also the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
On Wednesday it had been reported in The Times that BT Sport, who had revealed last year they were willing to listen to offers for the business, had sought Premier League approval to move forward with a deal that would have seen streaming giant DAZN acquire the rights.
But BT put out a statement on Thursday stating their current position and that they had now entered into exclusive discussions over a 50/50 venture with Discovery, Inc. on a deal that would create a new sporting platform for UK customers, potentially up and running before the end of 2022.
Crucially for Premier League clubs the commitment to the rights they currently hold was maintained.
Marc Allera, CEO of BT Consumer, said: "The proposed joint venture with Discovery, Inc. would create an exciting new sports broadcasting entity for the UK and would act as a perfect home for our BT Sport business.
"With a shared ambition for growth, as well as the combination of our world class sports assets along with Discovery’s premium sports and entertainment content, our customers will benefit from even more content in more places."
Everton have featured three times on BT Sport this season and will appear for a fourth time when they visit Newcastle United next week.
Liverpool have appeared 10 times by virtue of their Champions League games being screened on the platform, and they will make it 11 when they take on Leicester City next week in front of the BT Sport cameras.
For Everton and Liverpool, like the rest of the Premier League, the media rights are the lifeblood of their finances and what entices investment in the league in the first place. The new Premier League deal for the next six-year cycle is worth in excess of £10bn, with more money now received from international rights than domestic ones for the first time in Premier League history.
Domestic TV money is split three ways.
As part of the equal share, 50 per cent of the domestic revenue is split between the clubs equally at £32.2m, with 25 per cent then made up of facility fees paid each time a club appears on TV, and 25 per cent accounted for through merit payments based upon the position finished in the league.
David Powell, Executive Director of Insights & Analytics EMEA, at Landor & Fitch said: "After courting DAZN for months, Discovery came in as the surprise winner for BT’s sports business.
"While Discovery is best known for its educational output, it does already operate the Eurosport channels and has rights to show the Olympic Games in Europe. This deal now makes it a serious player in the sports category. For BT, it means it has the opportunity to streamline its architecture and focus on what it does best: technology innovation.
"Sports broadcasting is one of today’s most competitive markets with Eurosport battling to take on major new entrants. Labelled as the number one sport destination in Europe, Eurosport comes with over 30 years of experience – positioning Discovery as a powerful player in British sports broadcasting."
