Discovery completes US$1.2 billion Eurosport takeover

Discovery has completed its deal to acquire a majority stake in international sport broadcaster Eurosport from TF1.

Non-fiction channels and content specialist Discovery originally announced its move for 20% Eurosport in late 2012 and in January of this year said it would accelerate a plan to take a 51% stake in the business.

The acquisition required European Commission approval, which was forthcoming in April and Discovery said at the end of last week that the deal has now closed.

Discovery said that with the Eurosport channels in the fold it will operate over 200 worldwide TV networks and reach a cumulative 2.7 billion.

David Zaslav (pictured), president and CEO of Discovery Communications said: “By combining Eurosport’s popular sports programming with Discovery’s global brands and local expertise, we will continue to capitalise on the international growth of pay-TV and create long-term value for our shareholders.”