Huzzah! Some last-minute negotiations on transfer deadline day has yielded something of substance. And it's also some bloody good news.
After more than a week-long public fallout, Eurosport and the rest of the Discovery channels will be staying on the Sky platform after BSkyB struck a last-minute deal tonight.
BREAKING: Eurosport & Discovery channels will REMAIN on Sky after deal tonight between Discovery and Sky over the 12 channels
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) January 31, 2017
Eurosport confirmed the news in a (very brief) statement on their website:
We would like to thank our viewers and fans for their incredible support.
Eurosport was due to be removed from the Sky package at midnight, as Sky and Discovery (Eurosport's parent company) were locked in a stand-off regarding how much the former should pay to carry the latter's channels, with the dispute being made remarkably public last week. Discovery went public with their belief that Sky were unwilling to pay a fair price to carry their channels, saying they are paying less than they did ten years ago, with the share of Eurosport's viewers coming to the channel via Sky increasing by 20% in that time. Discovery also said that the "plurality" of TV is under threat, with Sky increasingly funneling resources to showing Premier League football.
Sky responded with a statement of their own, saying that Discovery wanted £1 billion, a figure Sky believe to be unrealistic for channels they perceive to be in decline.
Eurosport in turn appealed to their viewers' loyalties, and asked them to pressure Sky:
We believe it’s wrong for @SkyUK to charge you more & offer less. Make your voice heard @SkyHelpTeam #KeepDiscovery pic.twitter.com/Gb1EzjnJrh
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 27, 2017
More details regarding the money involved may follow.
