Delia Bushell resigns as MD of BT Sport

The Daily Telegraph has this weekend reported that Delia Bushell has resigned as Managing Director of TV & Sport for UK telecoms operator BT Group (BT).

Bushell a former BSKYB executive joined the telecoms operator in 2014, given the mandate of developing BT’s television/broadcast properties. At the time, BT governance looked to defend the firm’s position against the mounting challenge of SKY’s popular broadcast/broadband consumer packages.

As MD of TV and Sport, Bushell spearheaded the firm’s development of BT Sport channels agreeing on expensive content broadcast rights with the English Premier League and European football governing body UEFA.

Last March, Bushell and BT Sport executives secured a £300 million per season broadcast extension for all UEFA Champions League and Europa Cup competitions until the end of 2020/21 ( the deal valued at £1.2 billion).

However, BT Group has suffered a number of significant body blows in the past year, with the company being rocked by an accounting scandal within its Italian telecoms unit.

Furthermore, the telecoms operator continues to be criticised by its UK market competitors and regulatory bodies for its handling of national broadband infrastructure firm Openreach LTD, which critics state has been underfunded to the detriment of UK consumers.

These setbacks have seen BT governance issue a 2016/17 profit warning to its investors, stating that full-year performance would be below circa £170 million on corresponding 2015/16 performance.

Company shareholders are awaiting this Thursday’s full-year results presentation, with Chief Executive Gavin Patterson and BT governance expected to give a forward-looking statement on the firm’s future recovery.

A number of UK business commentators have detailed that moving forward the telecoms firm may choose to reduce its investment in BT Sport content, choosing to focus on restructuring its internal operations.