BT Shuts Down Popular App as Part of Service Shake-Up, Disrupting Sports Fans

Sports fans were left furious when BT blew the final whistle on its popular sports streaming app, BT Sport.

Following the rebranding of BT Sport to TNT Sports in July, the popular app will now close and all sports will be shown through the Discovery+ app.

Customers who have been watching sport via the BT Sport app will need to create a discovery+ account to continue streaming matches.

Meanwhile, the old BT Sport app will be automatically updated to become the TNT Sports app, a free news and results service.

Many users are unhappy with the change, with one complaining that the Discovery+ app is “not good.”

While the BT Sport app is still available to download as of this morning, upon opening it users receive a warning that the app will close on October 12 and prompts them to activate Discovery+.

Despite the changes, customers who have been paying for the BT app will still be able to access the same sports matches as before via Discovery+.

The Discovery+ app will allow existing customers to watch the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP, UFC, Boxing and WWE.

However, many sports fans have expressed their frustration on social media, lamenting the loss of their favorite streaming app.

“The Discovery+ app is not good,” wrote one frustrated fan. “I can’t believe they are removing the BT Sport app to force people to use it.”

Another wrote: “Is Discovery+ the worst app to watch, especially sports? The BT app was far superior!!!”

While one said: “BT sport was bad but the @footballontnt @tntsports app is just worse.”

It wasn’t just the loss of the BT app that has fans frustrated, as many are also complaining that the replacement Discovery+ app is plagued by buffering and low-quality streams.

While the BT Sport app is still available to download as of this morning, upon opening it users receive a warning that the app will close on October 12 and prompts them to activate Discovery+.

Social media users expressed frustration over the closure of their favorite app, with many unhappy with the restructuring of the service.

“The Champions League coverage is terrible. I know BT Sport was a challenge but how can we now watch a streaming service from the Discovery plus app that keeps flashing and freezing,” one commenter wrote.

Another called the service “delayed” and added that it was “barely watchable on BT broadband.”

While one angry fan wrote: ‘@discoveryplusUK can you fix this damn app please? I couldn’t see anything! It will be a sad day when the BT Sport app closes.’

While the BT Sport app is fondly remembered by many, the streaming app has had connection issues in the past.

Some commentators claim that the replacement Discovery+ app offers a lower quality streaming service that frequently suffers from lag.

Notably, the service bowed to football streaming demand when the game returned to stadiums after Covid restrictions were lifted.

In 2020, when the first German matches were played, BT’s servers crashed under load, leaving many fans unable to access their first live football experience in months.

The move comes as part of BT Sport’s rebranding to TNT Sports, following the purchase of BT by Warner Brothers Discovery, which also owns Eurosport, in a deal valued at up to £650 million ($800 million). .

The move aims to consolidate UK and European sport under a single brand, as TNT was previously the hub of European and UK sport in South America.

At the time of the acquisition, Andrew Georgiou, president and CEO of Warner Bros Discovery Sports Europe, said: “Today marks the beginning of our journey to build a new sports destination for fans in the UK and Ireland.”

How do I activate my Discovery+ account?

• Discover+ will take over the streaming service previously operated by BT Sport from October 12.
• If you have TNT Sports through BT Mobile or EE Mobile follow the activation link on the BT Sport website and log in with your BT ID and password.
• This will be the same password you use to access My BT.
• You will then see a message confirming that you are eligible for Discovery+, click this button and you will be redirected to the Discovery+ portal to finish setting up your account.
• If you already have a Discovery+ account, you can select the login button at the top right of the page.
• If not, create your account by filling out the form.
• The message ‘Everything is ready!’ The message means that your account registration is complete and you will not be able to access TNT Sports through Discovery+ Premium.

If you access BT Sport via BT or EE mobile, you should be able to access Discovery+ Premium using your BT account name and password.