Eurosport Boosts Ratings in 2012

COLOGNE, Germany – Pan-European broadcaster Eurosport is heading into this summer of sport on a winning streak. The company, controlled by France’s TF1, saw ratings for its network of channels grow strongly in the first five months of this year ahead of what is looking like a sports-dominated summer season.

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Across its networks, which broadcast to 59 countries in 20 different languages, Eurosport has seen its average TV audience increase 11 percent so far this year. Audience numbers for flagship channel Eurosport were up 7 percent, while the average audience for sister network Eurosport 2 jumped 37 percent. 

Leading the pack was Eurosport in Poland, which saw a 42 percent audience bump. But numbers were also stronger in Italy (up 25 percent), France (up 12 percent) and the U.K. (up 11 percent).

Driving that increase were Eurosport’s live coverage of top sporting events, particularly the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, which drew more than 56.4 million viewers across the Eurosport network, and the African Cup of Nations soccer championships, which attracted an audience of 56.3 million. 

Eurosport is hoping to keep up the pace in the coming weeks, as pan-European soccer tournament Euro 2012 kicks off Friday. Eurosport has time-delayed rights to all 31 Euro 2012 matches.

The network is also looking forward to a summer of live sports, with coverage of the London Olympics, the French Open and the Tour de France among the highlights.