TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) is a British sportscasting pay television channel brand owned by BT Group and Warner Bros. Discovery, first launched on 1 August 2013. It serves the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Based at the Warner Bros. Discovery complex in Chiswick Business Park, London since July 2023, the brand’s channels are available on EE TV, Sky and Virgin Media in the UK. They are also available on Sky and Vodafone TV in Ireland.
๐ Launch and Early History
BT Group established the brand after acquiring rights to the English Premier League. It also acquired the operations of previous rightsholder, ESPN UK, prior to launch.
News of BT’s first foray into sports broadcasting came on 12 June 2012, when it won rights to 38 live Premier League matches for three seasons from 2013โ14. BT announced it would launch its own channel for its new football coverage.
On 25 February 2013, BT announced an agreement to acquire ESPN’s television networks in the UK and Ireland. This gave BT rights to the FA Cup, Bundesliga, UEFA Europa League, and Scottish Premier League.
BT Sport launched on 1 August 2013. On 12 August, BT reported that over 1,000,000 households had subscribed ahead of the 2013โ14 Premier League.
๐ Rights and Programming
On 9 November 2013, BT Sport announced it had acquired rights to the UEFA Champions League and Europa League beginning in 2015โ16. The three-year deal was valued at ยฃ897 million.
In 2017, BT Sport began an agreement with boxing promoter Frank Warren. Under this agreement, BoxNation would be distributed as part of the BT Sport service.
On 20 June 2019, BT Sport announced an agreement to carry programming and pay-per-views of U.S. professional wrestling promotion WWE. This ended a relationship with Sky Sports dating back to 1989.
๐ค Joint Venture and Rebrand
On 11 May 2022, BT Group announced an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to form a joint venture. This would eventually merge BT Sport with its local Eurosport business.
The venture was approved by the Competition and Markets Authority on 22 July 2022. The merger was completed on 1 September.
BT Sport rebranded as TNT Sports on 18 July 2023. It absorbed Eurosport UK on 28 February 2025.
On 17 May 2025, the Financial Times reported that WBD was preparing to invoke its option to acquire BT’s stake in TNT Sports.
๐ก Distribution and Availability
In the UK, TNT Sports is available in standard definition with all BT TV packages for BT Broadband customers. The 4K channel TNT Sports Ultimate is also available to BT Superfast Fibre customers for an additional fee.
On Sky, TNT Sports 1 only is currently offered for free to broadband subscribers as ‘TNT Sports Lite’. Virgin Media customers receive TNT Sports 1, 2, 3, 4, and Ultimate as part of their “Full House” bundle.
On 18 July 2023, following the rebrand, the channels became available on the Discovery+ service for viewers in the UK. The BT Sport application was discontinued on all platforms from 12 October 2023.
On 9 February 2026, it was announced that HBO Max would launch in the UK and Ireland on 26 March 2026. It will replace Discovery+ as the streaming home for TNT Sports.
| Event | Date | Key Detail | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| BT Sport Launch | 1 August 2013 | First broadcast day | Over 1M subscribers by 12 August |
| UEFA Rights Acquisition | 9 November 2013 | Champions League & Europa League | ยฃ897 million three-year deal |
| Joint Venture Announced | 11 May 2022 | BT Group & Warner Bros. Discovery | 50/50 joint venture |
| Rebrand to TNT Sports | 18 July 2023 | BT Sport becomes TNT Sports | Eurosport UK absorbed on 28 Feb 2025 |