Eurosport Retires in UK & Ireland, Will Move Coverage to TNT Sports
Eurosport is one of the continent’s biggest sports channels, most famous for broadcasting the Olympic Games in Europe. That’s set to change now that the owners at Warner Bros. Discovery, through TNT Sports International, are restructuring their European networks. As part of that process, Eurosport will retire in the UK & Ireland in 2025. Boxing and other sports coverage will resume under the TNT Sports label instead.
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Eurosport & Streaming Sports Online
Eurosport’s channels – Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 – aired live and prerecorded sports terrestrially in the UK & Ireland. For years now, they have operated in a rapidly changing media landscape where streaming services are picking up larger audiences. Now Warner Bros. Discovery is moving its coverage to TNT Sports and Discovery+ instead, their own streaming service.
This is part of a larger trend that goes beyond sports content. Fiction shows started streaming online in the 2010s, and the first iGaming websites launched in the ‘90s. Today, everything from the latest movie releases to old Irish favourites like bingo have found their way online. Games like bingo have been reinvented on the internet, with new gameplay formats like Slingo and unusual settings and themes that you don’t get from a typical bingo sheet. For example, some online bingo rooms are inspired by popular shows in the UK and Ireland, like Deal or No Deal. Now, as services continue to move online, many sports broadcasters have now inked deals with streaming services or launched their own.
As the owners of Discovery+ and Max, Warner Bros. Discovery have become heavily invested in the online content ecosystem. At the same time, they have been engaged in a longstanding venture to acquire BT Sport, rebrand it to TNT Sport, and later fold Eurosport into the new TNT Sports brand by March 2025. Coverage will also be available through Discovery+ and later Max upon its UK/Ireland launch in 2026.
Why Eurosport is Becoming TNT Sport
Until this merger, Eurosport and TNT Sports both operated independently despite being owned by the same people. This has split their audience, potentially harming both brands and causing some confusion amongst fans. Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ Group Senior Vice President for Content and Production, Scott Young, said that the move will “offer a single, premium viewing experience for sports fans” in the UK and Ireland. He added that it “will bring an increased audience to what’s currently on Eurosport and will simplify our branding.”
Once fully consolidated under the TNT Sports brand, its rights catalogue will include a wide variety of high-profile sports events in racing, tennis, winter sports, snooker, football, rugby, and of course, contact sports like boxing. In the past, Eurosport has given the spotlight to Irish boxing talent through its coverage of the Olympic Games. Through TNT Sports, fans can access highlights, interviews, and analysis of the latest boxing bouts in Ireland and the UK at large.
Source: Pexels
Since BT Sports (now TNT Sports) never operated in Europe, Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t have this problem on the continent. That’s why Eurosport is staying for its 50 coverage regions across Europe, plus the Asian territories where they air content. TNT Sports was the stronger brand in Britain and Ireland, so it makes business sense to collapse Eurosport into the more popular network. In the future, fans can expect Irish boxing to air through TNT Sports instead.
