Britain’s competition watchdog said on Wednesday that it had started looking into BT Group’s (LON: BT) deal to combine its sports broadcasting business with Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD).
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had until July 28 to make its phase 1 decision on whether the joint venture between the UK’s biggest broadband and mobile provider and the U.S. company will reduce competition in the UK.
“The CMA always looks into this kind of proposed joint venture, so this is a normal part of the process,” a BT spokesperson said in an email.
Warner Bros. and Discovery also said that CMA’s investigation was a normal step because the deal needs to be approved by regulators.
The CMA’s investigation is part of “phase 1,” which will either clear the deal or send it to a more in-depth “phase 2” investigation.
After months of talks, BT, a British company that used to have a monopoly on telecommunications, signed a deal with Discovery in May to broadcast sports.
The deal to merge BT’s sports TV unit with Discovery’s Eurosport in Britain and Ireland lets the British company keep Premier League soccer for its customers while splitting the cost of expensive broadcast rights.
Discovery was made when Discovery Inc. and AT & T Inc.’s assets came together in a $43 billion deal (NYSE: T). In April, shares of the new company began to trade.
