US media group Discovery said to be swooping in for BT Sport

US media group Discovery is reportedly in talks over a deal to partner with BT Sport, in a move that would hijack the British television network’s £600m sale to sports streaming service DAZN.

The Financial Times cited sources as saying that Discovery, which owns the Eurosport channels, has offered to create a joint venture with the UK telecoms group.

BT Sport has the rights to screen English Premier League and Europe’s Champions League football matches in the UK, while Discovery has a long-term deal to screen the Olympic Games across Europe.

It was understood that BT executives have begun to take the option of a partnership with Discovery more seriously over the past two months, after talks over the outright sale of its sports channels to DAZN became stuck over commercial details.

The BT Sport service is tied to the company’s broadband subscribers, which has led DAZN to demand assurances over revenues if they bought the sports channels, people familiar with the talks told the FT. Meanwhile, BT wants to ensure its subscribers will continue to have access to DAZN’s services and wrangling over these issues has held up the deal.

One person briefed on the talks told the FT that BT planned to make a decision on whether to sell to DAZN or partner with Discovery by the end of the year.

At 1035 GMT, BT shares were up 1.4% at 170.90p.