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Ireland-based football fans need to be aware that ahead of the 2023-24 season, televised broadcasts of the games will be changing. BT Sport will soon become TNT Sports, after the recent partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery and BT Group. The merger will bring about new ways to enjoy sports and entertainment, and it may cause people to rethink which subscriptions they sign up to.
What do Football Fans Need to Know About This Merger?
Warner Bros. Discovery and BT Group have decided to combine the partners’ sports rights under one roof and TNT Sports is set to launch in July 2023. The current BT Sport name will no longer be used, but the service will continue to present live sports in much the same way that it currently does. Eurosport will still be available in Ireland before eventually being rolled into the new brand at some point in the future. Discovery+ will become the new streaming home for sports fans who can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport, and entertainment content.
Andrew Georgiou said the unveiling of the new brand name is another important step towards the launch of a more straightforward and attractive offering for sports fans in Ireland. He also noted that the TNT Sports name is already well-known for premium live sport in many countries around the world. It represents the global scale and expertise that Warner Bros. Discovery brings to the table.
The TNT Sports brand aims to reflect the fan-first approach that BT Sport is famous for. However, it will also continue to hold the values that it conveys in the many territories that it already exists in. For example, it is home to top-level domestic and European football in several Latin American countries, while the TNT network in the US has long been known for live sports coverage of the NBA, NHL, and NCAA.
Brand Already Famous in Ireland
The transition to this new format is most likely to be welcomed in Ireland and will offer a new way to enjoy top leagues like the Premier League. Warner Bros. is a well-known giant in the country’s thriving entertainment sector. With the company’s marketing expertise, the merger could have a knock-on effect on the rest of the entertainment industry as it tries to bring TNT Sports to as many people as possible.
It could mean that there will be new offerings in television and gaming related to Warner Bros’ new product. For instance, it may decide to start broadcasting more football documentaries, similar to shows like Welcome to Wrexham and All or Nothing. There could also be new games with the TNT Sports brand attached, with mobile and slots gaming being particularly popular in Ireland. Slot machines are highly prevalent up and down the country, and the games are known to be random and unpredictable – just like football matches. It’s hard to know when a slot is about to hit, but it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the RTP. A TNT Sports-based slot would certainly go down well with slots players, and it’s an area that the company could look into conquering in the future. Sports slots are traditionally unbranded, but by bucking that trend, TNT could corner a new area of the market and boost its notoriety in the country further.
As it stands, the Discovery+ package will cover live sports and various other entertainment options. This could easily expand into games in the future to compete with Netflix and its new range of arcade offerings. However, nothing has been announced about this yet.
The name change from BT Sports to TNT Sports isn’t going to have a seismic effect on football viewing in Ireland, but it could be good news for the future. It appears as though viewers will soon have access to a more comprehensive package that includes sports and other entertainment options.
