18 October 2013
Eurosport Group has agreed a new long term partnership with MotorSport Vision (MSV), rights holders of the MCE British Superbike Championship, to extend their deal past its original 2015 term to the end of the 2020 season. The deal renews exclusive TV and digital worldwide rights for coverage of all rounds of the MCE British Superbike Championship (BSB) live and in HD in all Eurosport’s markets*.
The new agreement increases live coverage of the premier and support classes in the UK specifically, extending to Saturday’s qualifying sessions which will see both the established three stage MCE BSB knockout qualifying and the Motorpoint British Supersport sprint race broadcast live and in HD.
British Eurosport Managing Director David Kerr said, “MCE British Superbikes continues to be one of the strongest set of rights on the channel, so extending the term of the deal and adding even more depth to our coverage is fantastic news.
“Working with a dynamic rights holder like MSV allows us to go beyond the traditional broadcaster relationship and spend time discussing what we can do together in the best interests of BSB.
“Extending the term of our agreement means we can take a much longer term view and invest in more live programming that will deliver premium quality content for our viewers and will raise the profile of BSB and the other series even further.”
Stuart Higgs, Series Director of MCE British Superbikes said, “Eurosport is well known as the Home of Bikes particularly in the UK and MCE BSB has been the cornerstone of that programming for some time. They understand bike racing and the series, have a strong, growing and loyal viewing audience and they understand how we want the series to grow.
“In addition, being part of the Eurosport family means we now have a far wider global distribution, including the USA through Discovery Velocity. Overseas markets are a key consideration for us and it is an area we want to grow over the term of this deal.”
British Eurosport will continue to cover every race of the MCE BSB series live and in HD until the end of the 2020 season, but will now add live HD coverage of MCE BSB qualifying and the Motorpoint British Supersport sprint race on Saturdays (except when races are held on Bank Holiday Monday, in which case qualifying and the sprint race will be on Sunday).
Coverage of the MCE British Superbike Championship continues on British Eurosport this weekend as part of ‘Superbike Sunday’ with nearly nine hours of live motorcycle racing, including coverage from the final rounds at Brands Hatch, with just one point separating leader and reigning champion Shane Byrne from his closest challenger Alex Lowes. Coverage starts at 0915 on British Eurosport 2 HD.
* Eurosport broadcasts in 54 countries in Europe and 17 countries in the Asia-Pacific region
27 September 2013
Eurosport will continue to broadcast the best clubs in the UEFA Women’s Champions League following the acquisition of the exclusive worldwide rights for the 2013-2014 home matches of title holders VfL Wolfsburg and 2010 winners 1.FFC Turbine Potsdam.
Eurosport can also broadcast selected away matches from both German clubs and can feature other teams such as 2012 and 2011 Champions League winners Olympique Lyonnais.
Eurosport has broadcast every FIFA Women’s World Cup and UEFA Women’s Euro since 2003 as well as the UEFA Women’s Champions League since 2011. More recently the Women’s Bundesliga has joined Eurosport’s portfolio of rights, until the 2015-2016 season, confirming the channel’s commitment to women’s football.
Fans increasingly consider Eurosport as the home of women’s football, underlined by this year’s audiences. 55m different European viewers watched the UEFA EURO in Sweden in July and the tournament’s average audience saw a 53% increase compared to the 2009 edition in Finland. In May 2013 Wolfsburg’s victory in the Champions League final over Olympique Lyonnais attracted 7.8m fans (+62% vs 2012 final).
Match Scheule:
UEFA Women’s Champions League 2013/14 live on Eurosport
Round of 32 – first leg
– 9 October, 17:00 CET: Parnü Jalgpalliklubi (EST) v VfL Wolfsburg (GER)
– 9 October, 19:00 CET: FC Twente ’65 (NED) v Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
– 10 October, 15:00 CET: MTK Hungaria FC (HUN) v 1.FFC Turbine Potsdam (GER)
Round of 32 – second leg
– 16 October, 17:00 CET: VfL Wolfsburg (GER v Parnü Jalgpalliklubi (EST)
– 16 October, 19:00 CET: 1.FFC Turbine Potsdam (GER) v MTK Hungaria FC (HUN)
Next round to be broadcast live: Round of 16 on 9-10 November (first leg) and 13-14 November (second leg). Matches to be announced soon.
Audience Sources: AGF/GfK, BARB, SKO, MMS, TNS-Gallup, Kantar Media, AGB NMR, Armadata/Kantar- Techedge.
16 September 2013
Eurosport, leading international sports media group, announced today an agreement with its new stakeholder, Discovery Communications, that will bring its flagship Eurosport TV channel to U.S. viewers for the first time in its 24-year history.
From September 28, a new Saturday afternoon programming block “Eurosport on Velocity” featuring motorsports highlights will air from 1-3 PM ET/PT, with encore presentations airing every Sunday morning on Discovery’s Velocity channel, the first U.S. cable network targeting an upscale male audience.
Eurosport Group CEO, Jean-Thierry Augustin, comments, “This is the first programming agreement with Discovery since our partnership was forged at the end of 2012. It’s a great example of the powerful synergies and opportunities we can create together. For the first time in Eurosport’s history, American viewers will have a sight of our channel’s expert sports TV production and best-in-class commentary. We’re delighted our TV channel’s initial programming steps into the U.S. will be on our stakeholder’s channel, Velocity.”
“Eurosport on Velocity” is one more way we are strengthening Velocity’s connection with our target audience,” said Bob Scanlon, general manager of Velocity. “As the only home for Eurosport in the U.S., Velocity is delivering unique programming that no other U.S.-based network can offer to viewers. We’re excited to be the American flagship for such a well-established, high-quality brand like Eurosport and look forward to working with the Eurosport team.”
In the first season, “Eurosport on Velocity” introduces four motorsport series to U.S. audiences:
- Running from January to November across Europe, the 2013 FIA European Rally Championship features eleven exciting events on asphalt, gravel and snow. Velocity will carry all the race highlights. The series is managed and promoted by Eurosport Events, the Eurosport Group’s expert division which delivers all aspects of sporting event management, ranging from TV production to media rights distribution, marketing and commercial investment.
- British Superbikes is one of the “big three” in motorcycle racing alongside MotoGP & the Superbike World Championships. Attracting 32 world class riders from all over the world and powered by 16 elite teams featuring leading manufacturers Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati, Kawasaki, BMW & Aprilia; the new “showdown” format to deliver intense racing all season long.
- The Silk Way Rally is the second largest rally event in the world. Kicking off in Moscow, over 130 rally cars and trucks race across the Russian Federation – covering more than 3000 kilometres over seven days.
- Considered one of the most prestigious international cross country rallies, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is a 5 day motorsport spectacular featuring motorcycle, quad-bike, four wheel and truck competitors. (Source: Eurosport press release)
11 September 2013
Further to the recent release announcing the launch of the new UEFA youth club football competition, UEFA announced today that international broadcaster Eurosport has been awarded media rights to the 2013-15 UEFA Youth League.
Eurosport has been awarded the exclusive European media rights to the first-pick match each matchweek. In this respect, Eurosport will produce the first-pick matches (including the semi-finals and final) and broadcast them across its pan-European network of channels (Eurosport or Eurosport 2). As of the semi-finals, the UEFA Champions League rights-holders in the countries of the participating teams will have the possibility to acquire the media rights of the matches co-exclusively with Eurosport.
Eurosport is the first official broadcast partner of the 2013-15 UEFA Youth League, however UEFA Champions League rights holders will also have the opportunity to produce and broadcast UEFA Youth League matches.
Commenting on the awarding of these rights, Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director of UEFA Events SA, said: “UEFA is delighted to announce Eurosport as the first rights holder of the 2013-15 UEFA Youth League. UEFA is looking forward to working with Eurosport in order to build and promote this newly created competition. Eurosport’s wide reach and promotional and production expertise are key assets for the exposure of the competition and as a long-term partner of UEFA’s other youth competitions, Eurosport is a natural fit for the UEFA Youth League.“
The first match to be produced and broadcast live on Eurosport will be Manchester United FC v Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 17 September at 17.00 CET.
26 June 2013
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, today announced the availability of Eurosport on Samsung Smart TV, the first regional sports broadcasting service available on the platform. Leading pan-European sports channels Eurosport and Eurosport 2 broadcast live streams of internationally renowned sporting events such as the Tour de France, the Africa Cup of Nations and Grand Slam tennis, among many others, equating to over 5,000 hours of live sport every year.
“We are delighted to welcome Eurosport onto Samsung Smart TV further demonstrating our commitment to broadening our key content partnerships to deliver a rich and varied experience for our customers. We are proud that live sport is now part of our portfolio across Europe,” said Lee Epting, Vice President of Media Solution Centre Europe for Samsung Electronics Europe.
The Eurosport Player goes beyond linear live broadcasting giving viewers a selection of content and programming options during leading events. For example, at three tennis Grand Slams, the U.S. Open, Australian Open and French Open fans can choose to watch one of seven different courts ensuring they never miss the chance to see their favourite players. Likewise, Eurosport’s coverage of World Snooker tournaments will also allow for multiple tables to be viewed. Other prestigious sporting events include cycling’s Tour of Spain and Tour of Italy, World Championship Athletics, 2013 UEFA Women’s European Championships and the full 2013/14 wintersports season.
“Eurosport has been delivering innovative programming for many years; ensuring sports fans get the best live sports experience possible. We are very proud to be able to bring our services onto Samsung Smart TV and look forward to introducing viewers to a more dynamic and engaging viewing experience,” said Arnaud Maillard, Eurosport’s Director of Internet & New Media.
Eurosport Player is available to download from Samsung TV Apps Store in 40 European countries and 13 languages: German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Dutch, English, Danish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Czech, Finnish and Norwegian.
