Eurosport’s all-screens approach drives uplift in fan engagement for Australian Open

After registering record digital and viewing engagement numbers at Roland-Garros and the US Open in 2019, that trend continued at this year’s Australian Open with a 35% uplift in unique visitors on Eurosport.com (web and app) with fans enjoying short-form content such as the brilliant My Grand Slam Journey series featuring Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, Eurosport’s Tennis Legends vodcast as well as highlights packages from Melbourne Park. Significant growth was reported on Eurosport.com (web and app) in Germany (+118%), Italy (+53%), UK (+29%), Spain (+14%) and France (+12%).

Eurosport’s social media channels, meanwhile, received a 76% uplift in engagement numbers versus 2019, boosted by YouTube (+220%), Facebook (+75%) and Instagram (+62%). Fans across Europe consumed 49.9 million minutes during the tournament fortnight (+105% versus 2019), contributing to 35 million video views (+78% versus the same period in 2019).

Coverage of the Australian Open on Eurosport 1 also increased 4%* year-on-year versus 2019 as millions of fans enjoyed unrivalled expertise from the best experts in the game including Mats Wilander, John McEnroe, Justine Henin, Boris Becker, Patrick Mouratoglou and Alex Corretja. Owing to the success of the big European names and local heroes, double-digit growth was reported on Eurosport 1 in Germany (+26%) the Netherlands (+26%), Spain (+24%), United Kingdon (+18%), Italy (+10%), Sweden (+12%) and Norway (+60%). Audience numbers recorded in the Netherlands contributed to the best Australian Open ever with the men’s final the second most watched tennis event on Eurosport in the country.

Andrew Georgiou, President, Eurosport and Global Sports Rights & Sports Marketing Solutions, said: “We are delighted that the content Eurosport produces continues to resonate with millions of sports fans watching across all screens in Europe. We’ve listened to sports fans and understand what they want and how they want it with a focus on live, every court available and best-in-class analysis. We pride ourselves on having the most knowledgeable experts and an unmatched heritage in tennis that fans continue to enjoy and engage with.

Last year, Eurosport reported a 31% year-on-year increase in unique views of Roland-Garros via it’s dedicated over-the-top (OTT) video streaming service, Eurosport Player, and the Eurosport app. Eurosport’s coverage of the US Open saw the Eurosport Player enjoy a 22% increase in video views and a 37% uplift in minutes watched versus 2018.