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The B/R Live over-the-top (OTT) platform is merging with Bleacher Report’s standalone app as Turner looks to consolidate its digital offering, according to general manager Hania Poole.
Bleacher Report, the US sports news and entertainment outlet acquired by Turner in August 2012 for US$175 million, was selected by Turner as the brand to launch its direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform for its Uefa Champions League offering, with B/R Live rolled out in March 2018.
More than 18 months since its launch, the service has invested in European soccer in particular, following up its acquisition of rights to the Champions League ahead of the 2018/29 season by securing content tie-ups with English soccer clubs Arsenal and Liverpool.
While the platform still functions as a separate entity, Poole said that the goal has always been to include a DTC option within Bleacher Report’s original digital platform, and that the launch of B/R Live was necessary to stay abreast with the rapidly changing sports streaming market.
Speaking to Sports Business Journal, she said: “Ideally, had we not been pressed for time, we would have always had kind of a live direct-to-consumer functionality within the Bleacher Report app.
“Because of this need to speed to the market, we needed to be quick and launched two separate experiences. Now we’re in the mid stages of integrating those two experiences together under the Bleacher Report brand.”
Though the transition is not expected to be made in the near future, Poole, who is also Turner Sports’ senior vice president of digital, said that the B/R Live platform could also include more gambling content.
The revelation comes following a merger between Turner’s parent company, Warner Media, and US telecommunications giant AT&T, which was given a green light to acquire Warner following a legal battle with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) earlier this year.
AT&T, which this week revealed it will launch its own video-on-demand (VOD) streaming platform, HBO Max, in May next year, plans to eventually integrate live sports coverage into that service, with Turner Sports’ National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) properties already mentioned as options.
The B/R Live over-the-top (OTT) platform is merging with Bleacher Report’s standalone app as Turner looks to consolidate its digital offering, according to general manager Hania Poole.
Bleacher Report, the US sports news and entertainment outlet acquired by Turner in August 2012 for US$175 million, was selected by Turner as the brand to launch its direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform for its Uefa Champions League offering, with B/R Live rolled out in March 2018.
More than 18 months since its launch, the service has invested in European soccer in particular, following up its acquisition of rights to the Champions League ahead of the 2018/29 season by securing content tie-ups with English soccer clubs Arsenal and Liverpool.
While the platform still functions as a separate entity, Poole said that the goal has always been to include a DTC option within Bleacher Report’s original digital platform, and that the launch of B/R Live was necessary to stay abreast with the rapidly changing sports streaming market.
Speaking to Sports Business Journal, she said: “Ideally, had we not been pressed for time, we would have always had kind of a live direct-to-consumer functionality within the Bleacher Report app.
“Because of this need to speed to the market, we needed to be quick and launched two separate experiences. Now we’re in the mid stages of integrating those two experiences together under the Bleacher Report brand.”
Though the transition is not expected to be made in the near future, Poole, who is also Turner Sports’ senior vice president of digital, said that the B/R Live platform could also include more gambling content.
The revelation comes following a merger between Turner’s parent company, Warner Media, and US telecommunications giant AT&T, which was given a green light to acquire Warner following a legal battle with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) earlier this year.
AT&T, which this week revealed it will launch its own video-on-demand (VOD) streaming platform, HBO Max, in May next year, plans to eventually integrate live sports coverage into that service, with Turner Sports’ National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) properties already mentioned as options.
