Skip to main content

Q&A WITH SCOTT YOUNG, SVP CONTENT AND PRODUCTION, WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY SPORTS EUROPE

8 June 2023

Scott Young

Ahead of what is shaping up to be one of the biggest weekends of sport the Warner Bros. Discovery business in Europe has seen, Scott Young, SVP Content and Production for WBD Sports Europe, talks in detail about the weekend and the level of planning involved.

Why should sports fans watching on our platforms get excited by this weekend of the 10th and 11th June?
I think we have one of the most diverse, compelling, entertaining range of sports available on the Weekend of Champions. And no matter what type of sport, whether it's a team sport, or it's the individual achievements, or whether you follow a sport team or athlete, somewhere across the Weekend of Champions we’re going to engage with your passion for sport.

Not only that, we're going to interconnect all of our sports together. So, if you've never experienced a particular sport before, this is also a great weekend to dive into new sports like Speedway Grand Prix, or the Mountain Bike World Series that may not yet be on your radar. But across the Weekend of Champions, we're going to surface samples all these different sports so that sports fans can be super-served under one brand.

Can you give some insights into the scale of this operation?
The scale is going to be unlike anything has anyone has realised previously, particularly in this business. To mobilise a team across Europe, from the UK through to Istanbul. And in a scale of sports, and a football pitch between two teams, whether you've got five yachts at sea in the Ocean Race, you've got mountain bikes, and Speedway Grand Prix at purpose-built venues. You've got Le Mans 24 Hour at such an iconic racetrack, we'll be going all day and all night, right through to the women's rugby final taking place in Gloucester in the UK. Not only that, the women's and men's singles finals, along with the doubles finals, taking place at the iconic Roland-Garros.

We have teams on ground at every one of those events to connect the stories with the athletes and we have teams at every one of our major production centres, connecting those teams to our audience. There are thousands of people working across our network to deliver this sport from the venue for our production centres, and into the televisions or devices of our audience.

What level of collaboration has there been internally across the business to make the most of this weekend?
I would say the collaboration is one of the great outcomes of the Weekend of Champions. And we've seen this at its highest level when we do the Olympic Games, whether summer or winter, where our markets across Europe collaborate to ensure we're working as one team to super-serve our audience.

I think the collaboration across the different teams and the different fields of sport across every individual's field of expertise, whether you're cast or crew, whether your presenter or pundit, or commentator or producer or assistant - every one of these teams are working together.

We began the concept of the Weekend of Champions in January, recognising that this weekend was upon us and we've been working tirelessly as a connected team across all of our European markets under the banner of the Weekend of Champions to make sure that we fully expose all the sports cross promote across all of the channels and connect with every athlete possible.

Where we see much cross promotion over the course of the weekend?
Our plan is to make sure that every sport interconnects with every other sports broadcast and that is not just through fairly simple picture-in-picture awareness promos - and that means that commentators are reminding you that sports are on different channels taking place either at the same time or later on that day - right through to our talents connecting with each other live from different venues to remind people that as one sport comes to a close another sports starts. You'll see a great collaboration between our own on-air team who are all part of the Weekend of Champions, and are all absolutely vested in making sure this weekend connect together.

What are the challenges that lie ahead to ensure this weekend goes smoothly?
All sport is one of the most unpredictable forms of entertainment you can possibly engage with - who knows what unfolds through all these various sports that we have in-play at the same time? So the variability is the unknown.

We have spent all of our time and expertise preparing for the start of all of these sports. The unknown is what unfolds as each sport continues. And that is part of the fun. We have an amazing team, including people like Barbara Schett, Alex Corretja, Tim Henman, Mats Wilander, John McEnroe, Chris Evert at Roland-Garros - and right now they're managing the story of tennis as it unfolds. We have an incredible team of people led by Tom Kristensen, who is Mr. Le Mans - who knows what is going to happen as 24 hours of car racing unfolds for the Le Mans 24 hours? And can Manchester City beat Inter Milan and bring it home in the Champions League. Again, football is an amazing story that unfolds over every minute of play. So we are at the behest of the competitors and the athletes from the moment they start competition.

On June 10 and 11 strap yourself in for a live sport rollercoaster ride. With the finals of Roland-Garros, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Speedway Grand Prix, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, the Criterium du Dauphine, MotoGP and the Champions League final (UK only), it’s the Weekend of Champions live on Eurosport, discovery+ and BT Sport.

Latest news

02/9/2026

TNT SPORTS PARTNERS WITH ALZHEIMER'S SOCIETY ONCE MORE TO RELEASE NEW VIDEO CONTENT TACKLING DEMENTIA

One person can’t take on dementia on their own, it takes a team. That's why TNT Sports are once again partnering with Alzheimer's Society this World Alzheimer's Month to raise awareness of dementia.

19/8/2026 - Last updated 24 August 2026

US OPEN TENNIS COMES TO MILLIONS OF VIEWERS ACROSS EUROPE ON EUROSPORT AND HBO MAX

• Every match on every court at the 2026 US Open will stream live across 45 markets* in Europe on HBO Max with far reaching coverage on Eurosport • Action gets underway with Qualifiers and Mixed Doubles Championship from 24 August • Coverage of the year’s final Grand Slam follows record-breaking pan-European tennis audiences for WBD this summer

18/8/2026 - Last updated 19 August 2026

WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY CLOSES HISTORIC ROAD CYCLING SEASON WITH LIVE COVERAGE OF EVERY RACE AT LA VUELTA A ESPAÑA AND THE 2026 ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Every stage of La Vuelta a España will be shown live across Europe on Eurosport, TNT Sports and HBO Max from 22 August to 13 September  The conclusion of the Grand Tour season precedes WBD’s coverage of the UCI Road World Championships on 20-27 September    WBD’s record-breaking summer of cycling continues following audience growth across all platforms during the Grand Tour season 

13/8/2026

FOOTBALL ON ANOTHER LEVEL: TNT SPORTS BRINGS FANS A HUGE SEASON OF LIVE FOOTBALL WITH SEVEN MAJOR TROPHIES ON THE LINE

Steven Gerrard leads an all-star line-up as TNT Sports prepares to bring fans more than 700 live matches across the biggest domestic and European competitions

05/8/2026

TNT SPORTS UNVEILS NEW BRAND CAMPAIGN CELEBRATING SPORT AT ITS HIGHEST LEVEL

The biggest competitions in football demand the very best from everyone involved.

05/8/2026

WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY EXPANDS ATHLETICS COVERAGE WITH ADDITION OF EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

The European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026 will be shown in 45 markets across Europe on Warner Bros. Discovery’s channels and platforms Every event will stream live on HBO Max with TV coverage on Eurosport and TNT Sports Live coverage begins on 10-16 August

29/7/2026 - Last updated 3 August 2026

HISTORIC TOUR DE FRANCE SETS NEW BENCHMARK FOR CYCLING VIEWERSHIP IN EUROPE AS WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY GROWS ITS AUDIENCE ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS

Biggest ever Tour de France streaming audience secured across Europe on HBO Max TNT Sports reaches millions of viewers and boosts its live viewing by 58% in its first year of exclusive coverage in the UK and Ireland with free-to-air reach growing on 5 Eurosport grows pan-European viewership with its most watched Tour de France in a decade alongside record editions in France, Spain and the Netherlands

28/7/2026

PREMIER PADEL SECURES LIVE COVERAGE ON TNT SPORTS AND HBO MAX FOR HISTORICAL FIRST EDITION OF THE LONDON PREMIER PADEL P1

The London P1 will take place from 4-9 August at Olympia and every match will be available to watch live in the UK and Ireland Action begins on 4 August at 10:00 BST with coverage across TNT Sports and HBO Max Trojan Paillot (WBD): “By partnering with Premier Padel we will showcase the very best of the sport and its athletes.” Rob Mitchell (Premier Padel): “This agreement with TNT Sports is a gamechanger for the sport in the UK and Ireland.” Stewart Hosford (Sela): “Our ambition is to elevate London P1 into one of Premier Padel’s defining tournaments. This partnership will help us bring the energy and excitement at Olympia to fans across the UK and Ireland.”

21/7/2026

TNT SPORTS CONTINUES AS THE HOME OF SNOOKER IN THE UK AND IRELAND WITH WORLD SNOOKER TOUR EXTENSION

TNT Sports extends its coverage of the World Snooker Tour until 2031 Every frame from the World Championship, the Masters and the UK Championship will be shown live on TNT Sports and HBO Max Trojan Paillot: “Our partnership with the WST reinforces our commitment to providing fans with the most complete snooker offer”

16/7/2026

EVERY EVENT FROM GLASGOW 2026 COMMONWEALTH GAMES EXCLUSIVELY LIVE ON TNT SPORTS AND HBO MAX

Every event from the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will be exclusively live across all HBO Max subscription plans in the UK and Ireland* Never-before-seen Commonwealth Games 360 channel ensures fans never miss a key moment - Live from 08.30-22.30 every day. Enhanced streaming features on HBO Max ensure the ultimate viewing experience. The Opening Ceremony broadcast live in full on TNT Sports, HBO Max and 5 on July 23rd.

14/7/2026

CLIMBING AUDIENCES POWER STRONG START TO TNT SPORTS’ FIRST EXCLUSIVE LIVE TOUR DE FRANCE COVERAGE

TNT Sports grows its Tour de France coverage by +41% in its first year of exclusive live coverage in the UK Streaming audiences on HBO Max in the UK have grown across all key metrics Daily free-to-air highlights on 5 are averaging more than half a million viewers, further expanding access to the race

03/7/2026 - Last updated 12 August 2026

THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES ENTERS NEW ERA WITH TNT SPORTS AND HBO MAX SET TO DELIVER NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN VIEWING EXPERIENCE

• Every event exclusively live at Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games across all HBO Max plans in U.K and Ireland • First-ever ‘Commonwealth Games 360’ channel, on TV and HBO Max, ensuring fans never miss a key moment. • Featuring a stellar line-up of global stars boasting 165 major competition gold medals

01/7/2026 - Last updated 8 July 2026

NEW FEATURES SET TO BOOST COVERAGE OF EVERY STAGE OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE ACROSS EUROPE ON HBO MAX

Coverage of every stage of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will be shown live across Europe by Warner Bros. Discovery this July and August Unique mountain top studio on Alpe d’Huez scales coverage to new heights New streaming features step up the viewing experience with every angle covered on HBO Max 

25/6/2026

WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY BRINGS WIMBLEDON 2026 TO FANS ACROSS 12 MARKETS IN EUROPE ON HBO MAX, EUROSPORT AND TNT SPORTS

HBO Max will stream every match live from The Championships, Wimbledon in 11 countries across Europe with wall-to-wall coverage on Eurosport TNT Sports will broadcast a daily special programme from the grounds as well as showing the Singles Finals live in the UK Former World No.4 Johanna Konta joins presenter Rachel Stringer to provide on-site expertise, storytelling and analysis throughout the tournament

24/6/2026

‘THE GOLDEN ARROWS’: NEW AWARDS SET TO CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE ACROSS WHOOP UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES

New annual WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series awards gala will honour teams, organisations and individuals across several categories Mountain Bike Hall of Fame to form part of this year’s awards ceremony, with four new inductees