Originally a joint venture between the European Broadcasting Union and Sky established in 1989, it was briefly shut down in 1991 following complaints by competitor Screensport. It was subsequently acquired by TF1 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 the Olympic Games in most of Europe, as well as (with some exceptions) the tennis Grand Slam tournaments.
The network of channels is available in 54 countries, in 20 different languages, providing viewers with European and international sporting events. Eurosport had 157 million subscribers in 2019, while the Eurosport 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.
Prior to the creation of Eurosport, the European 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 rebranded Sky One) on European cable systems. Sky Channel refocused to serve only the United Kingdom and Ireland. 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 brand Sky Europe.[3]
1991 closure, takeover by TF1
Eurosport was closed down in May 1991 after rival Screensport channel filed a complaint to the European Commission over the corporate structure.[4] The channel was saved later that month when the TF1 Group (formed after the French government privatised the post ORTF-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 channel Screensport merged with Eurosport. Five days later, that channel's transponder space was taken over by RTL II. Eurosport eventually came under a French consortium comprising the TF1 Group, Canal+ Group and Havas Images. In January 2001, TF1 took full ownership of Eurosport.
Eurosport Player & rebrand
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 UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Germany.[6]
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. During the 2009 Australian Open, the internet player offered coverage from five courts.
Logo used from 2011 to 2015, part of a rebrand undertaken by Les Télécréateurs.
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.[7][8] The new on-air identity has been designed by Paris-based design company Les Télécréateurs.[2] All localised Eurosport channels and the Eurosport website embraced the new identity.[8]
Analogue closedown
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.
Stake and acquisition by Discovery Communications; Warner Bros. Discovery
On 21 December 2012, Discovery Communications purchased a 20 per cent minority interest share in Eurosport from TF1 Group for €170m.[9] Discovery became the majority shareholder in the Eurosport venture with TF1 in January 2014, taking a 51 per cent share of the company.[10] On 22 July 2015 Discovery agreed to acquire TF1's remaining 49 per cent stake in the venture.[11]
On 13 November 2015, Eurosport introduced its new brand identity and changed the name of its main channel to Eurosport 1.[12]
In 2016, Eurosport expanded its deal with The All England Club to show all the Wimbledon 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.[13] Eurosport signed a new deal in 2019 to broadcast Wimbledon exclusively in 11 countries.[14] As of 2021[update], Eurosport broadcasts the Australian Open, French Open (except in France), US Open (except in the UK and Ireland), and Wimbledon (except in the UK, where the finals are a designated event that must be shown via public broadcasting).[15][16][17][18]
In February 2017, Discovery launched the channel in India, branded as DSport which was later renamed to Eurosport in 2020. The channel was made available on various platforms in both SD and HD feeds.[19]
On 5 January 2021, Discovery began to phase out Eurosport Player in favour of its new streaming service Discovery+.[20][21][22][23][24]
On 11 May 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery (a new company formed after the merger of Discovery with WarnerMedia) announced an agreement to contribute Eurosport's UK operations into a joint venture with BT Group and BT Sport. WBD will serve as managing partner of the joint venture; the two networks will operate separately for an interim period, after which they will 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.[25][26][27]
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, and Asia 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 available free-to-air on European digitalsatellite television.
In Asia-Pacific territories, Eurosport offers a specific channel to the region. Eurosport (Asia-Pacific) launched on 15 November 2009.[28] The service is available in Australia through Foxtel, Optus and TransACT. On 3 November 2014, a HD simulcast launched on Foxtel.[29]
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 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.
Eurosport India is the Indian version of the channel launched in February 2017 as DSport.[31] It was made available on major DTH platforms and cable networks across India during the launch. The channel's primary focus would not be cricket, as per the press meet at the launch.[32] The current offering from the channel includes less popular football leagues, cricket premier leagues, wrestling, fighting, golf, motor sports, horse racing, cycling and rugby. The channel is only available in high-definition format. However, few DTH operators downscale the feed to be presented with the standard-definition bouquet. As of 2018, Eurosport India was available to over 110 million households in India.
Former channels
British Eurosport (1999–2015)
In the UK, British Eurosport launched in 1999, replacing Eurosport International on most platforms, with some schedule variations and local commentary. The launch of British Eurosport and creation of programming specifically for the UK was initially funded by Premium TV, which did not have a stake in the sports channel, but received a share of the revenue.[33] British Eurosport had live studio presentations of major sporting events and tournaments.
Will Vanders was known for his coverage of K-1 events, and greeted the viewers in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Thai to introduce the martial arts show, Fight Club, on Monday nights.
Tour de France coverage in 2014 was commentated on by Carlton Kirby (following the departure of David Harmon) with veteran cyclist Sean 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 Ambassador Greg LeMond. Additional interviews were provided by Spanish cycling journalist Laura Meseguer and former pro racing cyclist Juan Antonio Flecha.
On 10 February 2009, British Eurosport started to broadcast most of its programming in the 16:9 'widescreen' ratio. After the collapse of Setanta 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, this replaced the pan-European Eurosport HD in the UK and Ireland.[35] 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 2012 French Open and 2012 Summer Olympics. UPC Ireland also broadcast Eurosport 3D for the 2011 French Open. Throughout the duration of the 2012 Summer Olympics, Eurosport 3D also broadcast on the Sky 3D channel.[36]
On 13 November 2015 British Eurosport was replaced by localised versions of Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 1 HD.
On 15 February 2016, the channel was replaced by Eurosport 2.[30]
2018 Winter Olympics
Eurosport 3, Eurosport 4 and Eurosport 5 (and their HD equivalents) were additional channels created for the 2018 Winter Olympics broadcasting Olympic Broadcasting Services live and highlights streams for the duration of the Olympic Winter Games.[41]
Eurosport News
Eurosport News logo since November 2015Eurosport Events logo since November 2015
A sports news channel was on air from 1 September 2000 to 4 January 2018, featuring live scores, highlights, breaking news and commentary. 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.
In 2016, Eurosport bought the rights for Formula One for Portugal and created a pay-TV channel for the occasion. It ended on the next year, after one season and the F1 went back to SportTV. The channel had more Motorsport competitions, such as Formula E, WTCC, and Dakar Rally.[42]
Eurosport Australia
Eurosport Australia was a short-lived sports television channel available until 7 December 2020. It was available on Fetch TV until the contract between Eurosport and Fetch TV ended.[43]
Eurosport EPL Romania (2013-2022)
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 2013–14 Premier League season.[44] 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 2017–18 NHL season.
On 9 March 2022, Discovery Inc. closed Eurosport Gold due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[45]
Viewing share Eurosport 1
As an international channel, Eurosport's performance differs significantly between countries. The figures below show Eurosport 1's share of overall viewing in some countries.
Eurosport provides viewers with European and international sporting events. It broadcasts different sporting events in each region. This includes several football competitions:
In its early years Eurosport screened European professional wrestling, billed as New Catch, filmed mostly in France (with some German CWA and regional American matches). In the UK, the commentator was Orig Williams. Some preview editions were transmitted on France's TF1 in 1988. From the mid-1990s until 2007, Eurosport broadcast dubbed Japanese professional wrestling (puroresu) episodes of NJPW World Pro-Wrestling series and other major shows for various continental markets. They also used to broadcast UWFi in 2006, 2007 with English commentary or with various other languages where the channel was broadcast. They also used to broadcast TNA 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 summer Olympic Games between 2018 and 2024.[76]
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[79]
In January 2019, it was announced that Eurosport will screen 39 ATP tennis tournaments including the tour finals in Russia for 3 years.[80]
Motorsport
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 FIA European Rally Championship and previously the FIAWorld Touring Car Cup (WTCR).
Since 2008, the Eurosport Group has also been broadcasting the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans in full.
Eurosport airs MotoGP in India, previously it had broadcasting rights in various territories including the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, France and Germany. The network also airs Superbike World Championship in multiple European countries.
Since 2008, Eurosport airs British Superbikes for UK broadcasts and World Feed.
On 29 September 2015, Eurosport acquired the Portuguese broadcasting rights for Formula One between 2016 and 2018.[81]
On 30 September, Eurosport and FIM announced that they had signed a contract regarding partnership for FIM's international speedway championships where Eurosport will be the promotor for 10 years. They also announced a deal to show SGB Premiership matches live throughout the season.[citation needed]
Eurosport airs Formula E across Western and Central Europe, except in Germany and Italy.
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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^"Jaarrapport 2005"(PDF). SKO Jaarrapporten (in Dutch). Stichting Kijkonderzoek. 2006. Archived(PDF) from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
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