BT Group revealed it intends to keep hold of its BT Sport unit after previously being tipped to be seeking to leave the field, as executives discussed earnings which continued to be impacted by Covid-19 (coronavirus) and supply chain issues.

Although it had seemed BT was close to calling time on BT Sport, with streaming company Dazn tipped as a likely buyer, executives stated the operator was now in exclusive talks with Discovery regarding a joint venture.

The 50-50 JV would combine BT Sport with Discovery’s Eurosport UK, a business the operator indicated could be operational this year subject to completion of the deal and approval by the relevant competition authorities.

Significantly, the move would mean BT Sport retains its existing sports broadcast rights, including England’s Premier League and European football, cricket, rugby union and WWE wrestling.

In turn, BT Sport customers would get access to Discovery’s sport and entertainment content, including the discovery+ app.

BT also revealed it reached an agreement in principle with Sky for a new longer-term reciprocal channel supply deal to beyond 2030. A content deal signed in 2017 allows Sky customers to add BT Sport to their subscriptions and BT TV subscribers to access Now TV content.

The operator indicated BT Sport revenue improved in the nine months to 31 December 2021, though the comparable 2020 figures were impacted by the cancellation of sporting fixtures due to the pandemic.

Revenue in the nine-month period dropped by 2 per cent year-on-year to £15.7 billion, with declines in BT’s Global and Enterprise units partly offset by growth in the Openreach network division.

Profit fell 31 per cent to £886 million.

BT predicted a 2 per cent drop in adjusted group revenue for its full fiscal 2022, ending 31 March, although all other metrics are unchanged and it expects a return to sales growth in fiscal 2023.