European TV: "Only one in three sport fans has access to premium sport channels" (EBU/Ampere report)

"A new report, 'Sport on European TV: Maximising Commercial Value', has found that, while in the last decade, pay TV's share of sports rights - by value - has grown by 20% in Western Europe, only one in three sport fans has access to premium sport channels," announced the European Broadcasting Union, which published the report in collaboration with the British firm Ampere Analysis, on 01/09/2021.

"The value of a sport's sponsorship rights is linked to its reach. A minute of airtime exposure across free-to-air European TV is worth €220,000 equivalent commercial value for sponsors. But, when a sport moves from a free to a premium TV channel, its reach drops by an average of 68% amongst sport fans," said the EBU.

"With free TV attracting a more diverse range of sponsors, it can be more lucrative for many sports. Tier 2 and 3 sports would require a 40+% uplift in the value of their broadcast rights to offset the value of free TV reach if they were to go pay only," added the alliance of public service media organisations.

• To download the report from the EBU website click here 
• The…