The sale of Global Cycling Network’s parent company Play Sport Network represented the closure of an expensive investment in cycling from Warner Bros Discovery, as Companies House documents reveal that the American conglomerate wrote off £33,197,503 worth of debts outstanding before completion of the sale.
Following the announcement of the closure of the GCN+ streaming platform in December 2023, Warner Bros Discovery announced in June 2024 that it would sell Play Sport Network to Mia Walter, the chief executive at the time of the sale, and former owner Simon Wear.
The company’s annual accounts reveal that 2023 had yielded considerable revenues for the business, with a total turnover of £24,072,853 – an increase of more than £2m on 2022’s total revenue.
However, the company still posted a financial loss for the year of £9,436,146. A wage and salary bill of £11,256,075 was amongst the biggest standalone expenditure for the business.
The majority of Play Sport Network’s income was from digital revenue, including advertising, brand partnerships and subscriptions to GCN+. This totalled £21,396,523, while the sale of goods – most visibly represented by GCN merchandise – totalled revenue of £1,072,746.
The financial loss was consistent with the business’ recent history of loss-making, bringing the accumulated losses on the profit and loss account to £33,363,490.
The report reveals that the biggest creditor for Play Sport Network in the next 12 months were “amounts owed to group undertakings” or in other words repayments due to an affiliate. The companies house documents detail that on 10th June 2024 “by way of capital contribution” Warner Bros Discovery “agreed to contribute its £33,197,503 debt outstanding from Play Sport Network Limited, for no consideration.”
This means that outstanding debts considered owed to the parent company were effectively written off – completing a picture of considerable overall loss in the ownership Play Sport Network Limited by the American conglomerate.
This contribution stood outside of the specific 2023 financial year, and was listed within ‘Post Balance Sheet Events’.
Warner Bros Discovery first took a stake in the business in 2017, and in 2019 took a majority stake in Play Sport Network for a reported total of £40m, which at that point was understood to value the business at £70m.
The value of the purchase by Simon Wear and Mia Walters is not outlined in public documents. Warner Bros Discovery is understood to have retained a smaller stake in the business, and the annual accounts reveal that in September 2024 1,256,056 Deferred shares – valued at £1,256,056 – were issued to Warner Bros Discovery following the sale.
Under Play Sport Network’s new ownership, the company’s focus will continue to fall on the various specialist YouTube channels rather than race coverage.
Warner Bros Discovery has recently drawn criticism for the imminent closure of its Eurosport channels in the UK. At the end of February, all racing cycling coverage formerly on Eurosport will move to TNT Sport, which will create a substantial rise in subscription cost from £6.99 per month to £30.99.
The TNT Sport package, which contains all of Warner Bros Discovery’s sports coverage, is in stark contrast to the GCN+ model of a highly specialised and more affordable streaming platform exclusively for cycling.
The investment in that more specialised model by Warner Bros Discovery appears to have been extensive, and the contribution of more than £33m most likely represents only part of the overall cost of the multi-year project – the disappearance of which has ultimately left cycling fans forlorn.
