Eurosport
Encyclopedia
Eurosport is a pan-European
television sport network operated by French
broadcaster TF1 Group
. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events. Eurosport first launched on European satellites on 5 February 1989.
, UEFA Cup
football, the Paris Dakar Rally, Monte Carlo Rally
, the Olympics
, cycling events such as the Tour de France
, tennis events including the French Open and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
, World Championship Snooker, ICC World Twenty20
, ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy
, Australian Football League
, wintersports, and youth sports like skating and surfing. It has also previously covered events such as the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
.
, the organizers of the FIA World Touring Car Championship
(WTCC). Eurosport broadcasts every WTCC race live. Before 2006, both the WTCC and the FIA GT Championship
are broadcast by Eurosport. But Eurosport requested SRO, the FIA GT Championship organizers, to shorten their race from 3 hours to 2 hours. SRO refused and since then it has not been on the bill with the WTCC. For 2007, the SRO shortened FIA GT Championship races to 2 hours.
The channel is also involved in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge
a rival rallying series to the World Rally Championship
. Since 2008, Eurosport has also been broadcasting the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans
.
Eurosport was launched in 1989 as a joint venture between the European Broadcasting Union
and Sky Television plc
. When Sky merged with BSB
they decided to focus on the sports programming on Sky One, and also The Sports Channel, launched by BSB, which was renamed Sky Sports
.
Eurosport was closed down in May 1991 after the competing Screensport
channel had filed a complaint to the European Commission
over the corporate structure. The channel was however saved when the TF1 Group
stepped in to replace BSkyB as joint-owners. A new Eurosport channel was able to start its broadcasts the same month. On March 1, 1993, the cable and satellite channel Screensport
merged with Eurosport. Eurosport eventually came under a French ownership consortium, comprising the TF1 Group
, Canal+ Group
and Havas Images. Since January 2001, the network has been owned entirely by TF1.
Eurosport is currently broadcast in twenty languages; English
, French
, German
, Italian
, Spanish
, Portuguese
, Dutch
, Swedish
, Norwegian
, Danish
, Finnish
, Russian
, Polish
, Czech
, Hungarian
, Romanian
, Bulgarian
, Serbian
, Greek
, Turkish
, Cantonese.
In May 2007, Yahoo! Europe and Eurosport formed a co-branded website which Eurosport uses as its web portal, including an online TV guide, in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Germany.
In 2008, Eurosport launched an online subscription service (called the 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.
, English
, French
, Italian
, German
, Portuguese
, Greek
, Hungarian
, Russian
, Polish
, Romanian
, Serbian
and Turkish
.
Eurosport 2 is self-describing as "the new generation sports channel" - dedicated to team sports, alternative sports, discovery and entertainment including basketball
, Twenty20 Cricket, National Lacrosse League
, Arena Football League, surfing
, Volleyball Champions League
, Australian Rules Football
matches from the Australian Football League
, Bandy World Championships
and more.
simulcast
version of Eurosport which launched on 25 May 2008.
with regular guests including Alan Curbishley
, DJ Spoony
, former Chelsea FC players Paul Elliott, Ed de Goey, Ray Wilkins
, Roberto Di Matteo
& former Chelsea
goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini
now at Tottenham Hotspur, former England International Luther Blissett
and European football journalists Gabriele Marcotti
& Xavier Rivoire.
Will Vanders is known for his spirited coverage of K-1
events, and greets the viewer in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Thai to introduce the martial arts show, Fight Club
on Monday nights.
Studio presentation for the Australian Open
, French Open, U.S. Open
and WTA Tour Championships
on British Eurosport is hosted by Annabel Croft
with Hawk-Eye
presented by former British Number 2 Jason Goodall. (Goodall was briefly ranked ahead of Chris Bailey
, Nick Brown, Andrew Castle
, Nick Fulwood
, Mark Petchey
, and James Turner, in May, 1989).
British Eurosport covers the snooker
season including ranking events not broadcast by BBC Television
including the Shanghai Masters and China Open
.
British Eurosport has also three figure skating commentators: former Winter Olympic Games competitors Chris Howarth
& Nicky Slater, and veteran commentator Simon Reed - brother of the late actor Oliver Reed
. Tour de France
coverage is commentated on by David Harmon with veteran cyclist Sean Kelly as the technical expert.
On the 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.
Pan-European identity
Pan-European identity refers to the sense of personal identification with Europe. The most concrete examples of pan-europeanism are the European Union and the older Council of Europe...
television sport network operated by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
broadcaster TF1 Group
TF1 Group
TF1 Group is a French media holding company , the owner of channel TF1, the largest European private TV channel, and Eurosport, the largest European sports network.The group was formed after TF1 was privatised in 1987...
. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events. Eurosport first launched on European satellites on 5 February 1989.
Sporting Events
Eurosport provides viewers with European and international sporting events. This includes: UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
football, the Paris Dakar Rally, Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...
, the Olympics
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, cycling events such as the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, tennis events including the French Open and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
, World Championship Snooker, ICC World Twenty20
ICC World Twenty20
The ICC World Twenty20 or ICC World T20 also referred to as the T20 World Cup is the international championship of Twenty20 cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council...
, ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy
ICC Champions Trophy
The ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International cricket tournament, second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup. It was inaugurated as the ICC Knock Out tournament in 1998 and has been played every two years since, changing its name to the Champions Trophy in 2002...
, Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, wintersports, and youth sports like skating and surfing. It has also previously covered events such as the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
.
Motorsport
Eurosport is a partner with KSOKSO
KSO may mean any of the following:*Kanzelhoehe Solar Observatory*KSO Metalfab, Inc.*Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo, Michigan*Karlovarský symfonický orchestr, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic*Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville, Tennessee...
, the organizers of the FIA World Touring Car Championship
World Touring Car Championship
For the video game, known as World Touring Car Championship in Japan, see TOCA World Touring CarsThe FIA World Touring Car Championship is an international Touring Car championship sanctioned by the FIA.-History:...
(WTCC). Eurosport broadcasts every WTCC race live. Before 2006, both the WTCC and the FIA GT Championship
FIA GT Championship
The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia and South...
are broadcast by Eurosport. But Eurosport requested SRO, the FIA GT Championship organizers, to shorten their race from 3 hours to 2 hours. SRO refused and since then it has not been on the bill with the WTCC. For 2007, the SRO shortened FIA GT Championship races to 2 hours.
The channel is also involved in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Intercontinental Rally Challenge
The Intercontinental Rally Challenge is a rallying series organised by SRW Ltd and sanctioned by the FIA, aiming to "give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers competing in recognised regional and international rallies, while offering organisers an innovative TV format concept,...
a rival rallying series to the World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
. Since 2008, Eurosport has also been broadcasting the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
.
History
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25...
and Sky Television plc
Sky Television plc
Sky Television plc was a public limited company which operated its four-channel satellite television service, launched by Rupert Murdoch's News International on 5 February 1989...
. When Sky merged with BSB
British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting was a British television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom...
they decided to focus on the sports programming on Sky One, and also The Sports Channel, launched by BSB, which was renamed Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
.
Eurosport was closed down in May 1991 after the competing Screensport
Screensport
Screensport was a pan-European sports television channel. The network was launched as a stand-alone channel in Manchester on 29th March 1984 and later acquired by the WH Smith Television Group in 1987...
channel had filed a complaint to the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
over the corporate structure. The channel was however saved when the TF1 Group
TF1 Group
TF1 Group is a French media holding company , the owner of channel TF1, the largest European private TV channel, and Eurosport, the largest European sports network.The group was formed after TF1 was privatised in 1987...
stepped in to replace BSkyB as joint-owners. A new Eurosport channel was able to start its broadcasts the same month. On March 1, 1993, the cable and satellite channel Screensport
Screensport
Screensport was a pan-European sports television channel. The network was launched as a stand-alone channel in Manchester on 29th March 1984 and later acquired by the WH Smith Television Group in 1987...
merged with Eurosport. Eurosport eventually came under a French ownership consortium, comprising the TF1 Group
TF1 Group
TF1 Group is a French media holding company , the owner of channel TF1, the largest European private TV channel, and Eurosport, the largest European sports network.The group was formed after TF1 was privatised in 1987...
, Canal+ Group
Canal+ Group
Canal Plus Group is a French film and television studio and distributor. It is controlled by Vivendi and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. Vivendi has sold some parts of Canal Plus to private investors which are still using the name of Canal Plus...
and Havas Images. Since January 2001, the network has been owned entirely by TF1.
Eurosport is currently broadcast in twenty languages; English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
, Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Cantonese.
In May 2007, Yahoo! Europe and Eurosport formed a co-branded website which Eurosport uses as its web portal, including an online TV guide, in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Germany.
In 2008, Eurosport launched an online subscription service (called the 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.
| 5 February 1989 - 28 February 1993 | Eurosport was launched in 1989 as a joint venture between the European Broadcasting Union European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25... and Sky Television plc Sky Television plc Sky Television plc was a public limited company which operated its four-channel satellite television service, launched by Rupert Murdoch's News International on 5 February 1989... . When Sky merged with BSB British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting was a British television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom... they decided to focus on the sports programming on Sky One, and also The Sports Channel, launched by BSB, which was renamed Sky Sports Sky Sports Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland... . |
| 1 March 1993 - 31 December 2000 | The cable and satellite channel Screensport Screensport Screensport was a pan-European sports television channel. The network was launched as a stand-alone channel in Manchester on 29th March 1984 and later acquired by the WH Smith Television Group in 1987... merged with Eurosport. Eurosport eventually came under a French ownership consortium, comprising the TF1 Group TF1 Group TF1 Group is a French media holding company , the owner of channel TF1, the largest European private TV channel, and Eurosport, the largest European sports network.The group was formed after TF1 was privatised in 1987... , Canal+ Group Canal+ Group Canal Plus Group is a French film and television studio and distributor. It is controlled by Vivendi and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. Vivendi has sold some parts of Canal Plus to private investors which are still using the name of Canal Plus... and Havas Images. |
| 1 January 2001 - today | The network has been owned entirely by TF1. |
2011 rebrand
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. The new on-air identity has been designed by Paris based design company Les Telecreateurs. All localized Eurosport channels embrace the new identity. The Eurosport website also embraces the new identity.Eurosport feeds
- In Europe, Eurosport is generally available on basic digital television service providers. Since 1999, Eurosport provides various opt-out services providing more relevant sporting content specific to language, advertising and commentary needs. Europsort offers a stand alone channel which provides a standardized version of the channel (Eurosport Pan-European). Alongside this there are also local Eurosport channels in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Nordic region and Asia Pacific. These channels offer greater sporting content with local sporting events, while also utilizing the existing pan-European feed.
- In Asia-PacificAsia-PacificAsia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...
territories, Eurosport offers a specific channel to this region. Eurosport (Asia-Pacific) launched on 15 November 2009. The service is available in Australia through FoxtelFoxtelFoxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, AustarAustarAustar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
and OptusOptusSingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
subscribers.
Eurosport 2
A supplementary channel featuring more live sports events, programming and news updates. Eurosport 2 launched on January 10, 2005 and is currently available in 35 countries, broadcasting in 11 different languages BulgarianBulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
.
Eurosport 2 is self-describing as "the new generation sports channel" - dedicated to team sports, alternative sports, discovery and entertainment including basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Twenty20 Cricket, National Lacrosse League
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...
, Arena Football League, surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
, Volleyball Champions League
CEV Champions League
The CEV Champions League, or Indesit European Champions League is the top official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe and takes place every year.-Formula:In the first round take part 24 teams shared in 6 group stage....
, Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
matches from the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, Bandy World Championships
Bandy World Championships
The Bandy World Championships are a competition between bandy-playing nations. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy....
and more.
Eurosport HD
A high-definitionHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
version of Eurosport which launched on 25 May 2008.
Eurosport News
A sports news channel launched on September 1, 2000, featuring live scores, highlights, breaking news and commentary. The service combines video, text and graphics with the screen being divided into 4 sections - a video section that displays highlights and news bulletins, a breaking news ticker at the bottom and a scoring section that gives in-depth analysis of results and game stats.British Eurosport
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. British Eurosport has live studio presentations of major sporting events and tournaments.History
James Richardson previously hosted the coverage of Serie A football on the Channel from 2002 to 2005 and 2004 UEFA European Football Championship2004 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, better known as Euro 2004, was the 12th European Football Championship, a quadrennial football tournament for European national teams. It was hosted in Portugal, for the first time, between 12 June and 4 July 2004, following its selection by UEFA, in...
with regular guests including Alan Curbishley
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....
, DJ Spoony
DJ Spoony
DJ Spoony is the stage name of Johnathan Joseph who is a British DJ, and former BBC Radio 1 presenter.-Radio and Dj career:...
, former Chelsea FC players Paul Elliott, Ed de Goey, Ray Wilkins
Ray Wilkins
Raymond Colin Wilkins MBE , often known as "Butch" Wilkins, is an English former footballer and at present a television pundit...
, Roberto Di Matteo
Roberto Di Matteo
Roberto Di Matteo is a Swiss-born Italian former professional footballer and the current assistant manager of Chelsea. As a midfielder, he enjoyed spells at Schaffhausen, Zürich Aarau, Lazio, and Chelsea. He was capped by Italy 34 times, scoring two goals for the Italian national team, and played...
& former Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini
Carlo Cudicini
Carlo Cudicini is an Italian goalkeeper who currently plays for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. In his 10 years at Chelsea he established himself as one of England's best goalkeepers before injury and the arrival of Petr Cech displaced him as first-choice...
now at Tottenham Hotspur, former England International Luther Blissett
Luther Blissett
Luther Loide Blissett is a former professional footballer and manager, who is currently a first-team coach at Hemel Hempstead Town. Blissett played as a striker, and is best known for his time at Watford, whom he helped win promotion from the Fourth Division to the First Division...
and European football journalists Gabriele Marcotti
Gabriele Marcotti
Gabriele Marcotti is an England-based Italian sports journalist, sports author, and radio-television presenter.Born in Italy and now based in London, he was raised in Chicago, Poland, Germany, New York and Japan...
& Xavier Rivoire.
Will Vanders is known for his spirited coverage of K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
events, and greets the viewer in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Thai to introduce the martial arts show, Fight Club
Eurosport Fight Club
Fight Club is a martial arts TV magazine program which is broadcast by the French based, Pan-European broadcasting sports channel Eurosport. The program includes various events, bouts and special features of kickboxing throughout the world....
on Monday nights.
Studio presentation for the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
, French Open, U.S. Open
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
and WTA Tour Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
on British Eurosport is hosted by Annabel Croft
Annabel Croft
Annabel Croft is a former professional tennis player and current radio and television presenter. As a tennis player she won the WTA Tour event Virginia Slims of San Diego and represented Great Britain in the Fed Cup and the Wightman Cup.After retiring from tennis, she turned to television...
with Hawk-Eye
Hawk-Eye
Hawk-Eye is a complex computer system used in cricket, tennis and other sports to visually track the trajectory of the ball and display a record of its most statistically likely path as a moving image. In cricket and tennis, it is now part of the adjudication process. It was developed by engineers...
presented by former British Number 2 Jason Goodall. (Goodall was briefly ranked ahead of Chris Bailey
Chris Bailey (tennis)
Chris Bailey is a former professional tennis player , British No. 1 and ATP world No. 126 , now a television sports commentator on tennis and football , and a real estate property consultant in Australia.-Early life:Chris D...
, Nick Brown, Andrew Castle
Andrew Castle
Andrew Nicholas Castle is an English retired tennis professional, former British No. 1, and now television presenter.-Biography:...
, Nick Fulwood
Nick Fulwood
Nick Fulwood is a retired British tennis player who reached the third round of the 1989 Wimbledon Championships.-Rape allegations:In 2004 Fulwood was accused of raping a 16 year old girl who he was coaching. The case was dropped for lack of evidence....
, Mark Petchey
Mark Petchey
Mark Dave Petchey is a former tennis player from England, who turned professional in 1988. The right-hander won one doubles title in his career. He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 8 August 1994, when he became the number 80 of the world...
, and James Turner, in May, 1989).
British Eurosport covers the snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
season including ranking events not broadcast by BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
including the Shanghai Masters and China Open
China Open (snooker)
The China Open is a professional snooker tournament. It is one of a number of ranking tournaments and began in 1997.-History:The first international snooker tournament in China was the China International in September 1997, a non-ranking tournament for the top 16 players and local players. The...
.
British Eurosport has also three figure skating commentators: former Winter Olympic Games competitors Chris Howarth
Christopher Howarth
Christopher "Chris" Howarth is a British figure skater. He is the 1980 British national champion. He represented Great Britain at the 1980 Winter Olympics where he placed 15th.He is a commentator for British Eurosport...
& Nicky Slater, and veteran commentator Simon Reed - brother of the late actor Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
. Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
coverage is commentated on by David Harmon with veteran cyclist Sean Kelly as the technical expert.
On the 10 February 2009, British Eurosport started to broadcast most of its programming in the 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
'widescreen' ratio. After the collapse of Setanta Sports, rights for the 2009 season in the USPGA Golf tour reverted to British Eurosport.
Viewing share
Being an international channel, Eurosport's performance differs significantly between different countries. The figures below show the channel's share of overall viewing in some countries.| Country | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 0.5% | 0.6% | ||||||
| Finland (10+) | 0.6% | 0.7% | ||||||
| France Television in France Television in France was introduced in 1931, making the country one of the first countries in the world to broadcast television programmes.- Terrestrial :... |
1.9% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.4% | ||||
| Italy Television in Italy Television in Italy was introduced in 1939, when the first experimental broadcasting began. However, this lasted for a very short time: when fascist Italy entered World War II in 1940 all the transmission were interrupted, and were resumed in earnest only nine years after the end of the conflict,... |
0.0% | |||||||
| Germany (3+) | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.7% | ||||
| Netherlands (6+) | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | |||
| Poland Television in Poland Television in Poland was introduced in 1937. It was state owned, and was interrupted by the Second World War in 1939. Television returned to Poland in 1951 and for several decades was controlled by the communist government. Colour television was introduced in Poland in 1971... (4+) |
0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | |||||
| Romania Television in Romania Television in Romania was introduced on August 1955. State television started to broadcast in 1956, on December, 31st.Accorting to an article on the Romanian newspaper Adevărul, the top TV broadcasters were : Pro TV , TVR1 , Antena 1 , OTV , Acasă TV , Prima TV... (4+) |
0.7% | |||||||
| Sweden Television in Sweden Television in Sweden began in Sweden in the early 1950s with the first test transmissions, prior to the opening of the first station, Radiotjänst, two years later. A second channel was launched in 1969... (3-99) |
1.6% | 1.4% | 0.9% | |||||
| United Kingdom | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
See also
- Sports channelSports channelSports channels are television specialty channels broadcast sporting events, usually live, and when not broadcasting events, sports news and other related programming....
- Broadcasting of sports eventsBroadcasting of sports eventsThe broadcasting of sports events is the coverage of sports as a television program, on radio and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing the events as they happen.-United States:...
- Fight ClubEurosport Fight ClubFight Club is a martial arts TV magazine program which is broadcast by the French based, Pan-European broadcasting sports channel Eurosport. The program includes various events, bouts and special features of kickboxing throughout the world....