After Sport1 discontinued its pay-TV channel Sport1 Extra, at least the future of Sport1+ and eSports1 has now been clarified. Both payment channels will be continued by Sportdigital on the previous sales platforms from 2025 – but under the new names Sportdigital1+ and eSportsOne. Both companies announced this on Wednesday, confirming a corresponding DWDL.de report from last week.
Officially it is said that Sport1 GmbH will discontinue its two pay-TV channels at the end of the year and their content will continue to be maintained by Sportdigital1+ and eSportsOne. The associated transaction is “part of Sport1 Medien AG’s long-term strategy” to concentrate on the core business areas of free TV with the Sport1 channel and digital with the corresponding online and social media platforms. “The transaction is a first success in the recently announced realignment of Sport1 Medien AG,” the company said.
Specifically, Sportdigital1+ shows the US Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Rugby League and the NASCAR Cup Series. Football competitions such as the South American Copa Libertadores, the Asian AFC Champions League and the Belgian Jupiler Pro League will also find their home here. eSportsOne shows eSports from the areas of strategy, shooters and sports, including DOTA2, Counterstrike and EA FC25.
© Sport1/Susan Bongart
Andreas Gerhardt
“After a long and successful journey since 2010, it is time to further develop the channels elsewhere. In the course of the repositioning, we are of the opinion that the operation of pay-TV channels is better off with our partner Sportdigital,” said Andreas Gerhardt, sales director and head of pay-TV at Sport1. “Sportdigital will continue to drive the two broadcasters forward and offer them strong future prospects. At the same time, the transaction enables Sport1 to focus on the core business areas of free TV and digital channels, so that viewers can continue to be there. “A wide range of sports and entertainment content can be offered.”
“Important milestone in our company history”
© Sportdigital
Gisbert Wundram
Gisbert Wundram, Managing Director of Sportdigital TV Sende- und Produktions GmbH: “The expansion of our pay-TV activities in the sports sector and the associated expansion of our Sportdigital program portfolio in German-speaking countries is a very important milestone in our company history.” We are extremely pleased.” We will continue to develop the pay-TV business “with our proven ‘sports digital philosophy’ in order to get even more people excited about the live sport we curate in the future, including via the football,” Wundram continued.
However, the agreement is still subject to approval by the relevant authorities. In the meantime, Sport1 will work closely with Sportdigital “to ensure that the quality of the program is maintained,” as it is said.
For Sport1, the final withdrawal from pay TV is a further step in a repositioning that has been noticeably advanced since the entry of the Turkish media company Acunmedya. Sport1 now shows the reality show “Exatlon” and the fashion show “My Style Rocks” and recently announced that it would also include adaptations of “Survivor” and “MasterChef” in its program. Sport1 also recently made headlines with planned job cuts.
