 | |
 Eurosport headquarters inIssy-les-Moulineaux. | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sportscasting |
| Founded | 5 February 1989; 36 years ago (1989-02-05) |
| Headquarters | , France |
Area served | |
| Brands | |
| Owner | Warner Bros. Discovery, throughWarner Bros. Discovery EMEA |
| Parent | TNT Sports |
| Website | eurosport.com |
Eurosport is a group ofpay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia that operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 andEurosport 2—across most of its territories, and streams onHBO Max andDiscovery+. It is a subsidiary ofWarner Bros. Discovery EMEA, a division ofWarner Bros. Discovery International, which is itself a division ofWarner Bros. Discovery Global Linear Networks.
Originally a joint venture between theEuropean Broadcasting Union andSky established in 1989, it was briefly shut down in 1991 following complaints by competitorScreensport. It was subsequently acquired byTF1 Group, and later merged with Screensport. For a period, it was a joint venture between TF1,Canal+ Group, and Havas Images. TF1 Group later bought out the other owners' shares. In 2012,Discovery Communications began to take an ownership in Eurosport, eventually leading to a full buyout in 2015.
Eurosport is the main rights holder of theOlympic Games in most of Europe, as well as, with some exceptions, the tennisGrand Slam tournaments.
The network of channels is available in 54 countries, in 21 different languages, providing viewers with European and international sporting events. Eurosport had 157 million subscribers in 2019, while theEurosport 2 channel had an audience of 87 million viewers.[1] For the most part, there is no on-screen presenter, only unseen commentators, allowing the same video feed to be used in multiple markets with different language audio.
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Prior to the creation of Eurosport, theEuropean Broadcasting Union had acquired substantial amounts of sports rights, yet its members were only able to broadcast a fraction of them. This provided the impetus for setting up the Eurosport Consortium, made up of several EBU members, to establish an outlet where these rights could be exploited.Sky Television was chosen as a commercial partner to the EBU project, and the channel launched at 6pm on 5 February 1989. It largely replaced the original Sky Channel (later rebrandedSky One) on European cable systems after Sky Channel refocused to serve only the United Kingdom and Ireland although for a period of time, some of Sky Channel's former pan-European programming was broadcast in the hours before Eurosport's startup, under the brandSky Europe.[3]
Eurosport was closed down in May 1991 after rivalScreensport channel filed a complaint to theEuropean Commission over the corporate structure.[4] The channel was saved later that month when theTF1 Group (formed after the French government privatised the postORTF-split TF1 5 years prior to the acquisition) stepped in to replace BSkyB as joint owners. It was able to restart its broadcast after 10 days.[5] Broadcasting hours were restricted to 1pm to 11pm, later 8am until midnight before settling at 7.30am and 1am. Its overnight hours were occupied by shopping channel The Quantum Channel.
On 1 March 1993, the cable and satellite channelScreensport merged with Eurosport. As a result, Eurosport International was co-owned by theTF1 Group, (operator),Canal+ Group andESPN Inc, with Générale d'Images (later rebranded Havas Images) as a fourth shareholder of the French operations.[6] Five days later, Screensport's transponder space was taken over byRTL II. In May 2000, ESPN sold its shares of Eurosport to TF1 and Canal+.[7] In January 2001, TF1 took full ownership of Eurosport.[8]
In May 2007,Yahoo! Europe and Eurosport formed a co-branded website which Eurosport used as its web portal, including an online TV guide, in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Germany.[9]
In 2008, Eurosport launched an online subscription service, Eurosport Player, that allows internet users to watch both Eurosport and Eurosport 2 live, plus additional coverage not available via broadcast.[citation needed] During the 2009 Australian Open, the internet player offered coverage from five courts.
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On 5 April 2011, Eurosport rebranded its channel. The rebrand incorporated six new on-air idents along with a new logo and presentation style both on-air and off-air.[10][11] The new on-air identity has been designed byParis-based design company Les Télécréateurs.[2] All localised Eurosport channels and the Eurosport website embraced the new identity.[11]
Having been one of the first channels to broadcast on the Astra 1 group of satellites, Eurosport was the last satellite channel in Europe to broadcast in an analogue format. On 30 April 2012, shortly after 03:00 CET, the rest of the remaining analogue channels at 19.2 East ceased transmission. Eurosport's analogue channel finally ceased transmission on 1 May 2012 at 01:30 CET, marking the end of an era in European satellite broadcasting.[citation needed]
On 21 December 2012,Discovery Communications purchased a 20 per cent minority interest share in Eurosport from TF1 Group for €170m.[12] Discovery became the majority shareholder in the Eurosport venture withTF1 in January 2014, taking a 51 per cent share of the company.[13] On 22 July 2015 Discovery agreed to acquire TF1's remaining 49 per cent stake in the venture.[14]
On 13 November 2015, Eurosport introduced its new brand identity and changed the name of its main channel toEurosport 1.[15]
In 2016, Eurosport expanded its deal with The All England Club to show all theWimbledon matches live in 19 countries, up from three under a previous deal. It was a 3-year deal (2017–2019) that included exclusive TV and digital rights. This expanded their tennis portfolio to show all four Grand Slams.[16] Eurosport signed a new deal in 2019 to broadcast Wimbledon exclusively in 11 countries.[17] As of 2021[update], Eurosport broadcasts theAustralian Open,French Open (except in France),US Open (except in the United Kingdom and Ireland), and Wimbledon (except in the United Kingdom).[18][19][20][21]
In February 2017, Discovery launched the channel in India, branded asDSport which was later renamed to Eurosport in 2020. The channel was made available on various platforms in both SD and HD feeds.[22]
On 5 January 2021,[23][24] Discovery began to phase out Eurosport Player in favour of its new streaming serviceDiscovery+.[25][26][27]
On 11 May 2022,Warner Bros. Discovery (a new company formed after the merger of Discovery withWarnerMedia) announced an agreement to contribute Eurosport's United Kingdom operations into a joint venture withBT Group andBT Sport. WBD will serve as managing partner of the joint venture; the two networks would operate separately for an interim period, after which they would combine their operations under a new name. As part of the agreement, WBD also negotiated a deal for BT Group to distribute Discovery+ to its television and BT Sport subscribers.[28][29][30]
WBD would rebrand BT Sport as TNT Sports, deriving its name from itsAmerican cable network. In January 2025, it was announced that Eurosport would close in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 28 February 2025, in favour of carrying Eurosport content via TNT Sports channels and platforms.[31] The remaining international channels will continue to operate under the Eurosport brand.[32][33]
This is the main channel of Eurosport. Ahigh-definitionsimulcast version of Eurosport launched on 25 May 2008. The first event covered in HD was the2008 French Open atRoland Garros. On 13 November 2015, it changed its name toEurosport 1 HD.[citation needed]
In Europe, Eurosport 1 is generally available in basic cable and satellite television packages. Since 1999, Eurosport 1 provides various opt-out services providing more relevant sporting content specific to language, advertising and commentary needs. Eurosport offers a stand-alone channel which provides a standardised version of the channel (Eurosport International in English). Alongside this, there are also local Eurosport channels in France, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Poland,Nordic region,Benelux region, andAsia Pacific. These channels offer greater sporting content with local sporting events, while also utilising the existing pan-European feed. The German version of Eurosport is the only one availablefree-to-air on Europeandigitalsatellite television.[citation needed]
Eurosport 1 is currently broadcast in 25 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese,Dutch,Swedish,Norwegian, Danish, Finnish,Icelandic, Russian,Polish, Czech, Slovak,Hungarian,Romanian,Bulgarian,Serbian, Greek,Turkish,Cantonese,Croatian andUkrainian.[citation needed]
In Asia-Pacific territories, Eurosport offers a specific channel to the region. Eurosport (Asia-Pacific) launched on 15 November 2009.[34] The service is available in Australia throughFoxtel,Optus andTransACT. On 3 November 2014, a HD simulcast launched on Foxtel.[35]
A supplementary channel featuring more live sports events, programming and news updates.Eurosport 2 launched on 10 January 2005 and is currently available in 35 countries, broadcasting in 22 different languages.[a]
Eurosport 2 describes itself as "the new generation sports channel", dedicated to team sports, alternative sports, discovery and entertainment includingbasketball (like the ItalianLBA),Twenty20 Cricket,Bundesliga,National Lacrosse League,Arena Football League,surfing,Volleyball Champions League,Australian Rules Football matches from theAustralian Football League,Bandy World Championships and more. Eurosport 2 was branded as Eurosport DK in Denmark. On 15 February 2016, this channel was replaced by Eurosport 2.[36] Eurosport 2 HD, a high-definition version of the channel, is also available.
Eurosport 2 HD Xtra is a German pay-TV channel launched in 2017. Eurosport bought Germany-only rights for Bundesliga, Supermoto and other broadcasting rights. Eurosport 2 has no German-only signal and Eurosport 1 is free-to-air, so the new channel was needed.[citation needed]
Eurosport (formerly known asDSport) is an Indianpay television sports channel owned byWarner Bros. Discovery India for the Indian subcontinent.[37] It was launched asDSport in February 2017 with a partnership between Discovery India and Lex Sportel. In January 2020, Lex Sportel parted ways with Discovery, creating their own channel1Sports. During its initial days the channel aired Brazilian, Chinese and Portuguese football leagues along with Major League Soccer (US) and live racing from the UK and Irish tracks. In golf, the channel aired British Open (The Open Championship), US Open, PGA Championship and LPGA. Additionally, It had also acquired rugby and cycling properties for the channel.[38][39]
In January 2020, Lex Sportel (the content provider for Dsport) parted ways with Discovery, taking their event rights from this channel and created their own channel1Sports.[40] On 17 March 2020,Ministry of Information and Broadcasting permitted Discovery to finally rename the channel to Eurosport.[41]
The channel revealed its new brand identity, highlighting its mission to ‘Unlock the Power of Sport’. Alongside the visual identity, it also launched a soundtrack, that is a thumping heartbeat.[42]
Orther sports it broadcasts:
In the United Kingdom,British Eurosport launched on 18 January 1999, replacing Eurosport International on most platforms, with some schedule variations and local commentary. The launch of British Eurosport and the creation of programming specifically for the United Kingdom was initially funded byPremium TV, which did not have a stake in the sports channel, but received a share of the revenue.[47] British Eurosport had live studio presentations of major sporting events and tournaments.[citation needed]
On British Eurosport,James Richardson previously hosted the coverage of Serie A football on the Channel from 2002 to 2005 andUEFA Euro 2004 with regular guests, includingAlan Curbishley,DJ Spoony, formerChelsea playersPaul Elliott,Ed de Goey,Ray Wilkins,Roberto Di Matteo andCarlo Cudicini, former England internationalLuther Blissett and European football journalistsGabriele Marcotti and Xavier Rivoire.
Will Vanders was known for his coverage ofK-1 events, and greeted the viewers in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Thai to introduce the martial arts show,Fight Club, on Monday nights.
For tennis, studio presentation for theAustralian Open,French Open,U.S. Open andWTA Tour Championships on British Eurosport was hosted byAnnabel Croft with the segmentHawk-Eye presented by former British number 2Jason Goodall.
British Eurosport covered thesnooker season, including ranking events not broadcast byBBC Television such as theShanghai Masters andChina Open.Neal Foulds and former world championJoe Johnson were among the commentators.
Tour de France coverage in 2014 was commentated on by Carlton Kirby (following the departure of David Harmon) with veteran cyclistSean Kelly as the "technical expert". The duo continued to commentate in 2015 and an additional pre- and post-programme was broadcast, "Lemond on Tour". This was presented by Ashley House with comment and analysis from Eurosport Cycling AmbassadorGreg LeMond. Additional interviews were provided by Spanish cycling journalist Laura Meseguer and former pro racing cyclistJuan Antonio Flecha.
David Goldstrom commentated onski jumping andski flying coverage from 1999.[48]
On 10 February 2009, British Eurosport started to broadcast most of its programming in the16:9 'widescreen' ratio. After the collapse ofSetanta Sports, rights for the 2009 season in the USPGA Golf tour reverted to British Eurosport.[citation needed]
On 25 July 2012, British Eurosport HD launched on the Sky, UPC Ireland and Virgin Media platforms in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which replaced the pan-European Eurosport HD.[49] British Eurosport 2 HD launched on 3 September 2012 on the Sky platform. Virgin Media has also carried Eurosport 3D to broadcast the 2011 and 2012French Open and2012 Summer Olympics. UPC Ireland also broadcast Eurosport 3D for the2011 French Open. Throughout the duration of the 2012 Summer Olympics, Eurosport 3D also broadcast on theSky 3D channel.[50]
On 13 November 2015, British Eurosport was replaced by localised versions ofEurosport 1 and Eurosport 1 HD.[citation needed]
Eurosport 3,Eurosport 4 andEurosport 5 (and their HD equivalents) were additional channels created for the2018 Winter Olympics broadcastingOlympic Broadcasting Services live and highlights streams for the duration of the Olympic Winter Games.[51]
In April 2010, Eurosport 3D launched but was only broadcast during a select number of events, such as theFrench Open and2012 Summer Olympics.[52][53]
Eurosport Australia was a short-lived sports television channel available until 7 December 2020. It was available onFetch TV until the contract between Eurosport and Fetch TV ended.[54]
Eurosport DK was a Danish television channel owned byDiscovery Networks Northern Europe. The channel replacedCanal 8 Sport andEurosport 2 in Denmark on 1 July 2015.[55]
On 28 May 2015,Discovery Networks Northern Europe announced that they would mergeCanal 8 Sport andEurosport 2 into Eurosport DK in Denmark, broadcasting football fromDanish Superliga, theBundesliga,Major League Soccer,Capital One Cup,UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying, tennis fromATP Tour,WTA Tour and 3Grand Slams, cycling fromUCI World Tour,Winter sport,Motorsports.[56]
On 15 February 2016, the channel was replaced byEurosport 2.[36]
A sports news channel was on air from 1 September 2000 to 4 January 2018, featuringlive scores, highlights, breaking news and commentary. It was available in 11 million homes in 54 countries.[57] The service combined video, text and graphics with the screen divided into 4 parts: a video section displaying highlights and news bulletins, a breaking news ticker at the bottom and a scoring section for in-depth analysis of results and game stats.
Eurosport EPL Romania was a channel owned by Eurosport, which broadcast the English Premier League in Romania. It acquired the rights from the Premier League to broadcast the 2013–14Premier League season.[58] It was closed in 2022.
Eurosport Gold Russia was a channel owned by Eurosport which broadcast the National Hockey League in Russia. It acquired the rights from the NHL to broadcast the 2017–18NHL season.[citation needed]
On 9 March 2022, Discovery Inc. closed Eurosport Gold due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[59]
Eurosport Norway is a Norwegian television channel that replaced Eurosport 2 on 3 September 2015.[60] It is owned byDiscovery Networks Norway and broadcasts Norwegianeliteserien and other Eurosport programming.
As an international channel, Eurosport's performance differs significantly between countries. The figures below showEurosport 1's share of overall viewing in some countries.
| Country | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 0.5% | 0.6%[61] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Finland (10+) | 0.6%[62] | 0.7%[63] | 0.7%[64] | 1.0%[65] | ||||||||||||||||
| France | 1.9%[66] | 1.4%[67] | 1.6%[67] | 1.4%[68] | 0.6% | |||||||||||||||
| Italy | 0.0%[69] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Germany (3+) | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.9%[70] | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.6%[71] | |||||||||
| Netherlands (6+) | 0.8%[72] | 0.8%[73] | 0.9%[74] | 0.9%[75] | 0.9%[76] | 0.9%[77] | 0.8%[78] | 0.8%[79] | 0.9%[80] | 0.9%[81] | 0.7%[82] | 0.6%[83] | 0.7%[84] | 0.6%[85] | ||||||
| Poland (4+) | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.8% | |||||||||||||||
| Romania (4+) | 0.7%[86] | 0.4%[87] | 0.4%[87] | 0.3%[88] | 0.4%[88] | 0.3%[89] | 0.3%[89] | |||||||||||||
| Sweden (3-99) | 1.6% | 1.4% | 0.9% | 0.6%[90] | ||||||||||||||||
| United Kingdom | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
Eurosport provides viewers with European and international sporting events. It broadcasts different sporting events in each region. This includes several football competitions:
Other sports events include theParis Dakar Rally, theMonte Carlo Rally, athletics events such asWorld Athletics Championships and theEuropean Athletics Championships, cycling events such as theTour de France,Giro d'Italia (except France) and theVuelta a España, tennis events including theFrench Open,Australian Open,Wimbledon (31 European territories) and theUS Open, theWorld Championship Snooker,National Hockey League (only for Russia),World Boxing Super Series (only for Spain), and action sports like skating and surfing.
In its early years Eurosport screened Europeanprofessional wrestling, billed asNew Catch, filmed mostlyin France (with some GermanCWA and regional American matches). In the UK, the commentator wasOrig Williams. Some preview editions were transmitted on France'sTF1 in 1988. From the mid-1990s until 2007, Eurosport broadcast dubbed Japanese professional wrestling (puroresu) episodes ofNJPW World Pro-Wrestling series and other major shows for various continental markets. They also used to broadcastUWFi in 2006, 2007 with English commentary or with various other languages where the channel was broadcast. They also used to broadcastTNA wrestling from 2006 until 2008, they broadcast episodes and edited pay per views without interviews. In Italy, Paolo Lanati was the commentator for NJPW, TNA and UWFi.
In June 2015, it was announced that Eurosport had secured the pan-European rights (except Russia) to the winter and summerOlympic Games between 2018 and 2024.[91]
In July 2017, Eurosport had secured the domestic and international rights from 2017 to 2020 of the ItalianLega Basket Serie A (LBA). Eurosport is the new owner of thepay TV, international andinternet rights.[92] Eurosport has TV rights also forItalian Basketball Supercup andItalian Basketball Cup.[93]
In October 2018, Eurosport has reached an agreement with the World Boxing Super Series for the exclusive acquisition of the Competition's broadcast rights in Spain[94]
In October 2018, Eurosport sealed a 3-year deal to showBritish Darts Organisation major eventsBDO World Darts Championship,World Masters (darts) &World Trophy
In January 2019, it was announced that Eurosport will screen 39 ATP tennis tournaments including the tour finals in Russia for 3 years.[95]
Discovery Sports Events (formerly known as Eurosport Events and before that 'KSO Kigema Sports Organisation Ltd.') is the Eurosport group's sporting events management / promotion / production division, which promotes the FIAEuropean Rally Championship and previously theFIAWorld Touring Car Cup (WTCR).
Eurosport Events was also the promoter of theIntercontinental Rally Challenge, a rival rallying series to theWorld Rally Championship, and of the FIAEuropean Touring Car Cup. The IRC ceased at the end of the 2012 season, with Eurosport taking over series promotion of the ERC from 2013. The European Touring Car Cup was active until 2017.[citation needed]
Since 2008, the Eurosport Group has also been broadcasting the annual24 Hours of Le Mans in full.
Eurosport airsMotoGP in India, previously it had broadcasting rights in various territories including the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, France and Germany. The network also airsSuperbike World Championship in multiple European countries.
Since 2008, Eurosport airsBritish Superbikes for UK broadcasts and World Feed.
On 29 September 2015, Eurosport acquired the Portuguese broadcasting rights forFormula One between 2016 and 2018.[96]
On 30 September, Eurosport andFIM announced that they had signed a contract regarding partnership forFIM's international speedway championships where Eurosport will be the promotor for 10 years. They also announced a deal to showSGB Premiership matches live throughout the season.[citation needed]
Eurosport airsFormula E across Western and Central Europe, except in Germany and Italy.
The network also airsMalaysian Cub Prix in multiple European countries.
| Competition[97] | Region | Broadcast Details |
|---|---|---|
| FA Cup | Denmark | Live until 2024 |
| FA Community Shield | Sweden | |
| Danish Superliga | Denmark | Two matches (second and fifth picks) per week live until 2024 |
| French women's football league | France | |
| Allsvenskan | Bulgaria, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden | All matches live through 2026 |
| Competition | Region | Broadcast Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | Pan-European | All matches live through 2031 |
| Roland Garros | Pan-European exc. France | All matches live through 2026 |
| Wimbledon | Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland | All matches live through 2027 |
| US Open | Pan-European exc. Ireland, United Kingdom, Germany | All matches live through 2027 |
| ATP Tour Masters 1000 | France | All matches live through 2026 |
| ATP 500 | France | All matches live through 2026 |
^3 - from 2020 qualifiers
| Competition | Region | Broadcast Details |
|---|---|---|
| EuroLeague | Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom | |
| EuroCup | Ireland, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom | |
| Basketball Champions League | Ireland, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom |
