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April 28 (Reuters) - BT Group Plc is in talks with
Amazon.com Inc, Walt Disney Co and Sport
streaming company DAZN to divest a stake in its television unit
BT Sport, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday. (https://bit.ly/3xzlmJo)
A British broadcaster is also involved in the discussions
and potentially leading the bidding, the report said, citing
City sources.
BT, Britain's biggest broadband and mobile operator, moved
into sports broadcasting in 2012 when it won the rights to show
a package of live Premier League soccer matches.
Its current package, which cost 885 million pounds, allows
to show 32 matches for three seasons from 2019-20. It also has
the rights to show Champions League soccer until 2024 under a
three-year 1.2 billion pound deal.
The Premier League would in normal circumstances have
auctioned the next packages of domestic rights by now, but the
COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the timetable.
The Telegraph reported that the Premier League is seeking
government approval to roll over the current deals, which also
included Amazon.
BT, under chief executive Philip Jansen, is focused on its
plan to rollout fibre broadband to 20 million homes and
businesses this decade.
BT Group declined to comment. Amazon and Disney did not
respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in
London; Editing by Leslie Adler and Alistair Bell)
BT (BT.A)
