Canal Plus set to close sports channel – report

French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus is planning to close its Sport Plus television channel, according to L’Equipe.

The French newspaper said the closure is set to happen before the summer, adding that Canal Plus would concentrate its sports output through the Canal Plus Sport, Infosport and Eurosport platforms.

Canal Plus last month agreed an exclusive carriage deal with pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Canal Plus said the Eurosport and Eurosport 2 channels would be carried on its CanalSat satellite platform from the spring of 2015.

L’Equipe added that it remains unclear how rights held by Sport Plus will be reassigned. Under the terms of its current deal with the French Basketball League (LNB), which runs until 2017, Canal Plus provides coverage of the Pro A league through Sport Plus and Canal Plus Sport.