BT Sport, Eurosport to become TNT Sports in select European Markets

UK and Ireland-based sports offering BT Sport will be rebranded as TNT Sports in July 2023 – with Eurosport to follow later in the same markets.

The BT Sport offering is a joint venture between Britain’s BT Group and America’s Warner Bros. Discovery, while WBD controls Eurosport through its international division.

The TNT name is used in the United States as part of WBD’s Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division, the assets of which were formerly held under the Turner Broadcasting umbrella.

It is most commonly known in the US as a cable television channel, carrying a variety of programming, including sports, mostly produced by Turner Sports, a name still used for the division that produces content for TNT, TBS, and other WBD -Owner produces .

“Turner Sports” was largely the banner of choice for sports-related content shown on the former Turner networks, but has since been rebranded as Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, stylized as “WBD | Sports.”

“TNT” was originally an acronym for “Turner Network Television,” while it also happens to stand for trinitrotoluene, an explosive.

BT was originally meant to stand for ‘British Telecom’, but the letters no longer officially stand for it as the company has expanded its reach into other industries.

WBD and BT previewed the new company’s logo, which takes the existing TNT logo used by the US network since 2016 and adds the word “Sports” in a bold, wide sans serif font that’s subtle in select places has curved tips as in the “N” in “TNT”.

The word “sport” is capitalized and doesn’t attempt to merge any of the letterforms like the circular TNT symbol does.

A first version showed the TNT circle in a light magenta with a purple background, although it’s not immediately clear if these will be standard colours, although it reflects the look of BT Sport’s current palette. Notably, BT also uses a circular element for its current logo.

The new name notably uses “Sports” with an “S” at the end, although common British slang and branding often drops that letter from the word in branding and everyday conversation.

Eurosport, which is based in France and has a wider reach across the continent, is also dropping an “S” at the end of its name.

It will be rebranded as ‘TNT Sports’ in the UK and Ireland only, retaining the Eurosport name in its other markets.

No date has been announced for Eurosport’s renaming, nor how exactly the elements such as the different channels it offers will be named to distinguish it from TNT Sports’ other offerings.

Eurosport was originally launched by Sky and the European Sports Union, with several other partners jumping in and out over the years before it ended up in the hands of Discovery. It has nothing to do with the Euronews of the same name.

In many parts of the world there is a delivery and logistics company called TNT that is not affiliated with WBD, TNT or any other broadcaster. Owner FedEx is currently in the process of renaming its global operations under the FedEx Express name, although the familiar three orange circles logo is still widely recognized in many countries.

The Turner name comes from Ted Turner, the businessman who founded CNN and other networks.