TF1 president and director general Nonce Paolini has said that the French media company plans to retain a 49-per-cent stake in Eurosport despite agreeing to sell a significant stake in the pan-European sports broadcaster to American media and entertainment company Discovery Communications.
“Ultimately our goal is to keep 49-per-cent of Eurosport and expand, thanks to Discovery, the potential distribution of Eurosport,” Paolini told French newspaper Le Figaro.
Last month, TF1 announced that it had sold a 20-per-cent stake in Eurosport to Discovery, which has the option to increase its stake to 49 per cent after two years. If Discovery decides to increase its stake, TF1 would then have the option of selling the remaining 51 per cent to Discovery.
“We will optimise advertising revenues by adding Discovery to the pan-European advertising expertise,” Paolini added. “In addition, such a partner will allow us to better negotiate the distribution of our premium channels… with different distribution platforms.”