All-female presenting line-up to lead football coverage on TNT Sports

Any sports fans looking to see what is coming up on BT Sport will be in for a surprise on Tuesday – a new look, new name and changed line-up of talent as it is rebranded to TNT Sport

NEW LINE-UP: Lynsey Hipgrove, Laura Woods, Jules Breach, and Reshmin Chowdhury comprise the all-female line-up that will lead football coverage on the newly rebranded TNT

Any sports fans reaching for the remote control on Tuesday morning to see what is coming up on BT Sport will be in for a pleasant surprise – a new look, new name and changed line-up of talent as it is rebranded to TNT Sport.

The purple BT logo will be replaced by the brighter magenta of TNT, which is already known throughout Latin America as a premium sports broadcaster covering Champions League football in the region.

More importantly, there will be more sports on offer, an all-women presenting team for the channel's revamped Champions League coverage, which will be hosted by Laura Woods, while Orla Chennaoui from Derry will head their rugby coverage.

The change has come about because of a merger last year between BT and Warner Brothers Discovery, the huge American broadcaster who already owned Eurosport and CNN as well as Disney.

So as well as BT's roster of Champions League and Premier League football, Premiership and Heineken Cup rugby and combat sports such as boxing and UFC, more top sporting action will be added for the same subscription package - next summer's Olympic Games from Paris, cycling including the Tour de France, Grand Slam tennis tournaments and Moto GP.

Andrew Georgiou, the amiable Aussie who heads the company's European sports operation, said: “We want to be different, bold and new, but the maxim we live by is 'right by the fans'. That means being right alongside them, bringing sport to life, but also doing the right thing for them.

“We will have a lot more content, different ways of watching, new sports, but the price remains the same. We want to be inclusive, have a community feel, which it is so important that all of our presenters and production team share that passion for sports.” 

He revealed that even the former players had been sounded out in their weekly brainstorming sessions aimed at diversifying their coverage.

“Rio (Ferdinand) had a thousand ideas, not just about our football coverage but other sports and events too. We have these ideation sessions where we put it all on a whiteboard and see how it looks.” 

As some well-known names join the team, others depart. Peter Walton, the former Premier League referee who was on call to explain contentious decisions during games (not always successfully, it has to be said) has departed and will not be replaced. The Score, BT's attempt to ape Sky's successful Soccer Saturday format, will also be scrapped. “Technology has overtaken a score-based programme – fans get their updates elsewhere now,” added Scott Young, head of content and production.

He added there will be one major innovation in presentation – an all female quartet of presenters for TNT's football coverage. Instead of the departed duo of Jake Humphrey as studio anchor and Des Kelly as touchline reporter for Uefa's showpiece matches, now Reshmin Chowdhury has been promoted from Europa League coverage to anchor the Champions League shows, with Jules Breach interviewing players and managers pitchside. Laura Woods will host European coverage (as well as boxing), while Linsey Hipgrave will host the channel's Premier League coverage, which is currently the 12.30pm Saturday slot.

Asked if TNT would bid for more matches in the Premier League's next rights auction, coming up in 2024, Georgiou was circumspect. “We'll have to see what the packages look like, but we are a premium sports broadcaster and ensuring that continues to be the case is of paramount importance.” 

Ally McCoist will be chief co-commentator on the biggest games, a coup for his fans and those who find Steve McManaman's comments bland and banal. The bubbly Glaswegian is an engaging character and that is the sort of personality Georgiou wants to promote as emblematic of the brand. “We are hugely excited to launch TNT Sports across the UK and Ireland. It goes live with a new and contemporary brand, a fabulous new and exciting line-up of talent and great value for viewers.

“Fans can continue to watch TNT Sports in the same places they enjoyed BT Sport and without any interruption to their access.” 

So to those viewers who accessed BT Sport via its own broadband operation, Sky, Virgin or Now TV, the switchover should be seamless on Tuesday morning.

The rebranding will also apply to social media, which TNT believe is an important way to draw in viewers and subscribers, and they are hoping to attract a new, younger audience with a more diverse line up of talent.

The youthful Radzi Chinyanganya cut his teeth presenting the 2020 Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics, will be given opportunities across more sports.

Chennaoui, who was once All-Ireland schools triple-jump champion, has a passion for cycling and is currently Eurosport's lead cycling presenter. But she will also head up TNT's rugby coverage, alongside Craig Doyle and Ugo Monye, with recently retired former Scotland captain Stuart Hogg joining an all-star punditry team that includes Brian O'Driscoll, Sam Warburton and Laurence Dallaglio.

Former world superbike champion Neil Hodgson will join Suzi Perry in covering Moto GP, while Carl Frampton will call the shots alongside Woods at the big fights.

All in all it promises to be more of the same, but also more bang for the viewer's buck, which is what you would expect of something with as explosive a name as TNT.

As Georgiou says: “Watch this space!”