Mumbai: Eurosport India, the go-to destination for passionate sports fans in India has seen an unprecedented 53% growth in their reach and a 37% increase in the time spent (Wk 1-29 vs Wk 30-35- 2021) *, riding high on their big-ticket acquisition of the LIVE broadcast rights for Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in the SAARC region. The 18-month-old sports-specific offering from the Discovery stable saw a rise in viewership and reach for the weeks of 30-35, 2021, as per the latest data released by BARC which was a result of their Marquee global properties viz, Moto GP, All Elite Wrestling alongside the heavyweight Paralympic Games.
The Paralympic games alone helped the channel scale 60% of their total gain during a period when LIVE sports viewership dropped by 11% across the sector (Wk 35, 2021) *. A 360-degree approach with an equally robust digital push saw Eurosport India achieve an additional reach of over 22 million with over 24 million impressions during the 13-day long quadrennial sporting extravaganza on Social Media. The Tokyo Paralympic games witnessed the best ever finish by Team India at the quadrennial global sporting extravaganza, where India returned with 19 Medals that included a record-breaking 5 Gold Medals.
Speaking about the development of Vijay Rajput, Senior Vice President – Affiliate sales and Product Distribution, Asia – India Sales & Distribution at Discovery Inc. and Head of Eurosport India said, “It has been a short journey for Eurosport in India, and we are very happy that in our own signature way we have certainly proven that our varied sports content beyond Cricket is gradually creating its niche amongst the passionate sports fans of India. Being the home to Olympics in Europe, adding the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games to our SAARC roster was a well-thought strategy and we are delighted to see the results, which also proves that we are rightly reading the passionate sports fan’s choices. It is a matter of privilege and pride that Eurosport India was able to support them in this journey by bringing their untold stories of triumph to our viewers.”
The successful Paralympics broadcast saw an equally gripping response from Eurosport India’s another Marquee global property, MotoGP™, which also saw a welcome rise in the total reach on the back of the recent announcement of onboarding Motorsport’s enthusiast and Bollywood superstar, John Abraham, as the Brand Ambassador of MotoGP™ in India. Adding to the growing list of the audience for Eurosport India was the launch of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), which has taken the World of Professional Wrestling by storm.
*Source- BARC India, 2+ India (U+R)