EUROSPORT STRATEGY PAYING DIVIDENDS WITH STRONG AUDIENCE FIGURES IN 2016

• Tennis, cycling and football provided the highlights of the past 12 months, with key events and matches in each of those sports enjoying best-ever audience ratings on Eurosport.

• 2016 Australian Open Women’s Final - Highest rated tennis match ever on Eurosport with a total of 4.85m viewers in Europe, including 2.62m peak in Germany

• 2016 Australian Open Men’s Final – Best-ever men’s tennis match on Eurosport with a total of 4.37m viewers

• Highest ratings for Giro d’Italia ever on Eurosport in Italy, Poland and Romania

• 806,000 fans watched Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich in Poland – the most watched programme ever on Eurosport 2 on 9 November

Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton said: “We are immensely proud of what we have achieved over the past 12 months. Throughout the year we have placed a greater emphasis on localising our programming while broadcasting more premium content and exclusive sport than ever before. As a business, we always look to put fans first and we believe the fans themselves have recognised this.

“2017 is shaping up to be another fantastic year. With our acquisition of the rights for Wimbledon, we can legitimately call ourselves the Home of Grand Slam tennis in 25 markets – with more to follow. To broadcast the Bundesliga in Germany from the 2017/18 season is an incredibly exciting opportunity and we look forward to delivering what is undoubtedly a world-class product to millions of passionate fans across the world.

“As the new Home of the Olympics, Eurosport will also proudly display the Olympic Rings during key broadcasts throughout the year. We will tell the stories of the athletes set to light up the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in February 2018.

“In addition to the best snooker tournaments, high-profile cycling events and rugby in numerous markets across Europe, the next 12 months will be unmissable.”

Tennis: World-class talent, enhanced programming serve up success

An enhanced production experience that included former world number two Alex Corretja joining Mats Wilander and Barbara Schett as a Eurosport analyst saw January’s Australian Open serve up record ratings across Europe. Average live audiences were up 20% compared to 2015 with the men’s and women’s finals audience figures the best rated tennis matches in the channel’s history.

Locally, a peak audience of 2.618m fans in Germany watched compatriot Angelique Kerber win a maiden Australian Open title against Serena Williams while a peak of 1.1m British fans watched on Eurosport as Andy Murray took on Novak Djokovic in the men’s final.

Roland Garros enjoyed similarly spectacular results with a record 273,000 (avg) / 384,000 (peak) people in Spain (peak at 3.1m for Eurosport Network) tuning in to watch Garbine Murguruza play Serena Williams in the women’s final – the second highest-rated programme in Eurosport’s history in Spain. In Spain overall, audiences were up 86% versus 2015 at Roland Garros.

Exclusive rights to the US Open in August and September on Eurosport in the United Kingdom saw a record number of British fans tune in for a single match at Flushing Meadows when Andy Murray took on Kei Nishikori. As well as recording the best audience for a single match at the US Open, there was a 157% increase on viewers across the tournament in the UK compared to 2015. Elsewhere, there was a 40% overall increase in audience figures during the US Open in Germany and a 6% increase across the whole Eurosport Network.

Cycling: Innovation central to strong cycling ratings

2016 saw Eurosport tap into improved technologies and innovation to engage new fans and die-hard supporters of cycling like never before. Greg LeMond and Juan Antonio Flecha provided expert analysis on its linear channels while Eurosport sought to attract new audiences by educating fledgling fans on cycling via a host of hi-tech online tutorial videos on the intricacies of the sport.

The prestigious Giro d’Italia in May saw significant growth in audience figures across the Eurosport Network and a host of major markets in Europe. The 2016 Giro d’Italia saw the Eurosport Network record its highest ever audience figures for the event while fans in Italy, Poland and Romania all watched in record numbers. There was also a 5% increase in viewers in Germany, resulting in its best Giro d’Italia since 2010.

The upward trend continued at the iconic Tour de France with Spain (+99% vs 2015), France (+16% vs 2015) UK (+16% vs 2015), Netherlands (+148% vs 2015) and Romania (+23% vs 2015) all enjoying substantial year-on-year growth.

Football: More of the very best football content proves a winner with fans

Eurosport’s strategy to broadcast premium, exclusive content locally has also resulted in a surge in audience numbers for the Bundesliga in Poland and the English Premier League in Romania.

To date, the 2016-17 season has also seen a 30% jump in audience figures for the English Premier League in Romania compared to the same stage 12 months ago – a direct result of improved local production and strategic use of local talent.

November’s blockbuster Bundesliga clash between famous rivals Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich was the highest rated show in the history of Eurosport 2 in Poland, with in excess of 800,000 fans tuning in – 5.53% of the overall share of the Polish market.

A change of programming strategy (moving Monday games to Eurosport 1) and enhanced pre-match build up to matches in Poland has helped average figures of the local Ekstraklasa league increase by 26% versus 2015.

Winter Sport: Olympic Games effect piques the interest of fans across Eurosport

With the Olympic Winter Games now just over a year away and broadcast live on Eurosport for the first time, fans appear keen to learn more about the athletes as they embark on the road to PyeongChang.

The first round of the winter sports season Soelden in October saw substantial audience growth in Germany (+89% vs 2015), Poland (+122% vs 2015), the UK (+105 vs 2015), Sweden (+246% vs 2015) and Romania (+10% vs 2015) compared to 2015. There was, meanwhile, a 66% increase in viewership across the Eurosport Network compared to 2015 for the same event.

Increased marketing activities coupled with the success of local heroes so far this season have contributed a substantial increase in viewers of ski jumping on Eurosport in Poland. To date this season, there has been a remarkable 74% increase in viewers versus 2015 – and a 26% increase on the previous best recorded in 2013.

Rugby registers record high audience

2016 also saw Eurosport’s highest-ever audience figures recorded for a Pro D2 rugby match on the channel when 103,000 fans watched Perpignan go head-to-head with Colomiers in France in November.

Reaching new audiences:  2016…. And beyond

Broadening its appeal beyond its traditional audience, Eurosport’s strategy to create linear and social media short-form content has proved popular with fans across the globe.

The Commissioner of Football online series, launched ahead of the 2016 UEFA European Championships in June featuring the legendary Eric Cantona, has been watched by 33 million fans globally and reaching 105 million fans across the globe so far.

The Coach, starring Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglu, gave fans a unique insight into the mindset of some of the top tennis players in the world during Eurosport’s broadcast of the Grand Slams in 2016. The Coach concept will be replicated across winter sports in 2017 by double gold medallist Tina Maze, adding a different dimension to Eurosport’s coverage.

2017 will once again see Eurosport broaden its offering with the objective of attracting new fans. Eurosport will launch Chasing History - a behind-the-scenes documentary following ski superstar Lindsey Vonn to be broadcast on linear, social and digital platforms – the first of programme of its kind on Eurosport as it begins to tell the stories behind the athletes with the Olympic Winter Games just over a year away.

ENDS.