Eurosport celebrates 30th birthday with promise to continue to be a 'pioneer of the sport industry'

Eurosport, the number one sport destination in Europe, is today celebrating the 30th anniversary of its launch and first ever transmission.

To commemorate the milestone, Eurosport has launched a bespoke brand identity celebrating the spirit and sports stars of 1989 across its Eurosport linear, digital and social platforms in the form of idents, pre-title sequences and promos. Eurosport has also commissioned several 1989-inspired short-format series - to air on all Eurosport platforms - showing some of the unique events and iconic sports stars that appeared on the channel in its inaugural year.

To amplify the landmark and further engage with its millions of fans across the continent, Eurosport has partnered with the world’s most popular music streaming service, Spotify, to launch a dedicated 1989-themed playlist, microsite and digital advertising campaign that will run from the 5 February to 28 February. Spotify users will be able to travel back in time and discover songs from 1989, curated to match their personal playlists by visiting eurosport.withspotify.com.

On February 5, 1989, following a collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union, the Eurosport channel was launched on Sky Television featuring a wide variety of sports content with commentaries in English, Dutch and German. During its first month on air, the channel broadcast key live sporting events, such as the World Alpine Skiing Championships, World Matchplay Snooker, the World Bobsleigh Championships and the European Figure Skating Championships.

Today, Eurosport is the Home of the Olympic Games in Europe, where it delivered the ultimate Games experience for PyeongChang 2018 with its award-winning coverage reaching both record linear and digital viewership across localized Eurosport services. Eurosport is also firmly established as the home of cycling, Grand Slam tennis and winter sports, with its channels reaching 246 million cumulative subscribers across 75 countries in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.

JB Perrette, President and CEO Discovery International, said: “Eurosport has been dedicated to sport for 30 years and continues to innovate and disrupt the market - proving itself to be a pioneer of the sports industry time and again. We are incredibly proud of what this company has achieved, and it is a testament to the vision, dedication and commitment of an incredible team over the years that Eurosport continues to grow and is now reaching more people or more screens than ever before.

“From our game-changing Olympic Games partnership; position as the home of cycling, Grand Slam tennis and winter sports; and operator of the only European-wide OTT streaming service - the Eurosport Player - Eurosport continues to be a unique proposition for sports fans across the continent. With our second Olympic Games fast approaching, the continued development of our digital products, further investment in technology and ongoing ambition to strengthen our rights portfolio, Eurosport will be powering people’s passions for years to come.”

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George Aivazoglou, Vice President of Marketing at Eurosport, added: “Over the past 30 years, Eurosport has developed an enviable position as one of the most recognisable sports brands worldwide. Like many of the athletes we showcase each and every day, our company has spent many years honing its craft, continuing to innovate, determined to super-serve passionate communities of fans in Europe and around the world. The 30th anniversary brand identity is a celebration of our heritage, focusing on the sports stars and spirit of 1989 to engage the current-day viewer across all platforms.”

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In 2019, Eurosport is proud to call itself the number one sport destination in Europe, with its two channels now reaching 246 million cumulative subscribers across 75 countries and Eurosport.com, launched in 1999, positioned as Europe’s number one online sports news website with an average of 42 million unique users per month.

Additionally, the Eurosport Player, launched in 2008 and still the only Europe-wide OTT sport streaming service, and Eurosport app – the only places to watch Eurosport anytime online, on mobile and on tablet devices – have experienced record subscriber growth over the past 12 months. Eurosport Events, formed in 2007, specializes in the management and promotion of international motor sport events, currently organising more than 24 events per year, across three continents, with distribution in over 220 territories.

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Eurosport Timeline

On February 5, 1989, following a collaboration with the European Broadcast Union, the Eurosport channel was launched on Sky Television featuring a wide variety of sports content with commentaries in English, Dutch and German. During its first month on air, the channel broadcast key live sporting events such as the World Alpine Skiing Championships, World Matchplay Snooker, the World Bobsleigh Championships and the European Figure Skating Championships.

Eurosport.com, a bespoke pan-European digital website, launched in 1999, offered sport fans the very latest in sporting news, results coverage as well as live coverage and highlights from key sporting events around the world. Developed to become part of the sport fans daily media consumption, Eurosport.com has continued to evolve to become Europe’s number one online sports destination.

On January 10, 2005, Eurosport launched Eurosport 2, an additional channel of live programming of events. Broadcasting Handball Champions League, Australian Football, surfing, volleyball and basketball, Eurosport 2 was developed to sit alongside and complement the existing channel and looked to deliver a wider choice to sports fans while reaching a younger audience. The offering was made available across 35 countries and in four languages – English, Polish, Turkish and Greek.

2007 saw the launch of Eurosport Events, a specialist division of Eurosport, which handles the organisation, management and promotion of key international sporting events including TV production, media rights, distribution and sale of marketing rights. Since its creation, Eurosport Events has been involved in the delivery of key global motorsports series such as the FIA World Touring Car Championship, the European Rally Championship, and the FIM Endurance World Series. Eurosport Events also works with partners from the world of equestrian sports.

The Eurosport Player was launched in 2008 and offers live streaming of Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2, as well as on-demand programming, on PC and Mac.

On May 10, 2014, Discovery Communications announced that it had completed the acquisition of the controlling interest in Eurosport International. The US-based #1 Pay-TV broadcaster was the first US media channel to launch channels in Europe in 1989 and has invested steadily and significantly in its international business for 25 years.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announces that all TV and multi-platform broadcast rights in Europe for the four Olympic Games in the 2018–2024 period have been awarded to Discovery Communications, the parent company of Eurosport. The announcement kicks off a long-term partnership between the biggest global sports event, the Olympic Games, and leading global media company, Discovery Communications.

Discovery and Eurosport delivered on its commitment to engage more people, on more screens than ever before across Europe. Viewers embraced Discovery’s innovative production of the Olympic Games in record numbers, including the most immersive coverage, every minute live on digital, and the best experts analysing the action in an Olympic-first – the ‘Eurosport cube’ augmented reality studio – earned Discovery and Eurosport record audiences across platforms. Approximately 58%* of the population watched on free-to-air and pay-TV in Discovery’s top ten markets across Europe, on its own channels, and those of its partner broadcasters, with a record breaking over 90% TV audience share achieved in Sweden and Norway. And a record breaking 76 million users enjoyed the Games online, on social and through the integrated Eurosport app, which includes free content and premium sport streaming service, the Eurosport Player.

Today, Eurosport is proud to call itself the number one sport destination in Europe, with its two channels now reaching 246 million cumulative subscribers across 75 countries in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East and Eurosport.com positioned as Europe’s No 1 online sports news website with an average of 42 million unique users per month.