Bumper first half of 2021 sees record digital growth for Eurosport ahead of the Olympic games

With just over two weeks to go until its coverage of every unmissable moment of Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Eurosport has announced record digital growth for the first half of 2021. Record audiences and subscribers again underline Eurosport’s position as the number one sports destination in Europe, however fans choose to watch, read or follow.

Eurosport.com attracted more than 50 million unique visitors in June 2021, serving fans around the world with industry-leading journalism spanning the latest sports news, scores and features. Representing a peak in monthly visitors so far this year, this nearly doubles the peak monthly users seen in 2020 and is a 75% rise vs its 2019 peak.

Notably, this milestone is also 19% higher than the peak in visitor numbers during 2018, despite this period featuring a gluttony of major sporting events such as Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 and FIFA World Cup Russia 2018. Eurosport.com, which also directs users to premium video coverage of some of the world’s greatest sporting events on discovery+ and the Eurosport App, is on track this year to achieve the highest number of unique monthly visitors for more than 3 years.

The first half of 2021 has also seen a steep rise in the number of people streaming Eurosport’s live and on-demand sports content and programming. The Eurosport App enjoyed a 75% increase in viewers (January – June) vs the same period in 2020. Viewing has been further boosted by fans who are already flocking to watch Eurosport’s coverage, as well as wider sports content, on discovery+ in the international markets where the service has launched.*

Scott Young, Senior VP of Content and Production, Discovery, said: “The significant rise in the number of fans engaging with Eurosport is a testament to the unique stories our experts and content teams tell every day. After a challenging year for sport during 2020, Eurosport’s sustained digital growth underlines how we immerse fans with the sports they love, available however they choose to watch, read or follow.

“Few other sports brands offer Discovery’s full package of outstanding live coverage, in-depth storytelling with the athletes and up to the minute news and results in real-time. Our digital content teams have an unrivalled passion for all sport that converts to the engaging content our fans enjoy, in growing numbers. As we pass through three Grand Slams, more than 100 days of cycling and countless hours of sport programming, this first half of the year has provided the perfect springboard for us to bring every unmissable moment of Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 to fans across Europe”.

The growth in Eurosport.com visitors (January – June 2021) was driven by Eurosport’s local sites, including France (+43% vs January – June 2020); Germany (124%) Italy (+52%); Spain (+25%); the U.K. (+232%).

The first half of 2021 has seen Discovery Sports’ portfolio of brands, channels and platforms – including discovery+, Eurosport, GCN and GOLFTV – present some of the biggest events in live sport, such as the Grand Slams (Australian Open, Roland-Garros and Wimbledon), cycling’s Grand Tours (Giro d’Italia, Tour de France) and the best and latest series in electric motorsport (ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and PURE ETCR ahead of its upgrade to the FIA eTouring Car World Cup in 2022). BCS Bureau