BIGGEST EVER AUDIENCE FOR EUROSPORT AND DISCOVERY+ IN ITALY AS AUSTRALIAN OPEN DRIVES 30% GROWTH IN STREAMING ACROSS EUROPE

29 January 2024

  • Eurosport Italy reports a record audience for a single broadcast since launching in 1989
  • Jannik Sinner’s maiden Grand Slam victory in Sunday’s Australian Open men’s singles final achieved a 17% audience share alongside record streaming consumption on discovery+ in Italy
  • WBD Sports’ exclusive streaming coverage of the Australian Open saw growth in every market in Europe on discovery+ and the Eurosport App

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports Europe today reveals its coverage of the Australian Open 2024 men’s singles final was watched by the biggest ever audience in Italy for any single sports broadcast during Eurosport’s 34-year history.

This follows the maiden Grand Slam title victory for local hero Jannik Sinner as he overcame Daniil Medvedev in five sets yesterday. The thrilling tournament finale secured a 17% audience share and a +313% year-on-year increase in television viewers for the final in Italy in addition to a +89% rise in streaming subscribers watching on discovery+ across the country.

WBD Sports’ streaming platforms – discovery+ and the Eurosport App – which provided exclusive coverage of every match during the tournament for viewers across Europe, drove a +30% year-on-year increase in unique viewers overall.

The trends in digital audiences enjoying free tennis editorial and video content continued on Eurosport.com’s local language sites across Europe with a +61% year-on-year increase in unique visitors during the tournament including millions of fans visiting Eurosport.com in Italy alone (+247%).

Growing digital consumption of the Australian Open was matched by Eurosport’s rising television audiences across Europe, despite a continuing industry decline in linear viewing. Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 secured a +24% increase (versus last year) in average audiences who tuned in to enjoy the tournament in 2024.

The announcement continued WBD Sports’ positive trend of engaging record audiences from the halfway stage of the tournament. Its international coverage this year was boosted by the 2022 Australian Open doubles champion Nick Kyrgios, who provided commentary throughout the tournament including the during men’s final exclusively for discovery+ and Eurosport’s English language channels.

He was joined by a host of former Grand Slam champions and former professional players including John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Mats Wilander, Justine Henin, Tim Henman, Laura Robson, Barbara Schett and Alex Corretja who appeared as part of Eurosport International’s Cube studio coverage alongside debut host Rachel Stringer to bring viewers closer to the action and their tennis heroes.

As the ‘Home of Tennis’, Eurosport will build on heightened engagement for its tennis coverage and content ahead of its exclusive coverage across Europe (excluding France) of the year’s second Grand Slam tournament from Roland-Garros in May.


All stats are compared to performance during the 2023 Australian Open.
The Australian Open is available on discovery+ in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK and Ireland.

 

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