“20 years ahead of the Game and still playing to win!” by Jacques Renaud – President EuroSport

The Eurosport story based on an interview with Jacques Raynaud and Heather Bowler.
By Maarten Schäfer and Anouk Pappers

Jacques Renaud

‘We live, breathe and sleep Eurosport!’
In the past decades, centuries, or even millenia the power of sport has never faltered. Sport has and always will be an integral part of modern society. No matter where you are in the world, sport brings people together to share emotions, pride and good fun.

However, when it comes to the way fans watch and enjoy sport, the rules of the game have changed radically. New technologies offer alternative ways to get a thrill out of the game. Audiences now have higher expectations and want to enjoy sport anytime and anywhere; on TV, internet and on mobile phones. Basic TV picture quality is no longer enough, fans want to see blood, sweat and tears in high definition!

As we watch the world’s greatest champions compete for gold, and as we witness the entire media landscape evolving at such a fast pace, we can’t help but wonder how Eurosport, Europe’s leading sports entertainment Group, stays ahead of the game. Like a well-trained athlete preparing for an important tournament, Eurosport is using the experience, trust and stamina they have gained in the past 20 years to drive the Group forward. Eurosport celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2009 and one thing is clear: this brand is still playing to win!

A winning score
We got together with Jacques Raynaud, Eurosport’s Vice Chairman, and Heather Bowler, Global Communications Director, at Eurosport’s HQ in Paris to understand Eurosport’s recipe for success. We talked about Eurosport’s 20th anniversary and the people and passion that have made the company and the brand what they are today. Jacques: “We are more than just passionate about our work. We live, breathe and sleep Eurosport!” Eurosport has always been on the podium boasting impressive results. With 87 percent awareness in Europe, Eurosport reaches more than a 116 million homes across 59 countries. Initially launched in English, Dutch and German, today the channel is broadcast simultaneously in 20 languages. As a result, almost all of the 22 million daily viewers watch Eurosport in their own language. Jacques: “It feels almost magical that you can watch the Ski World Cup lying on the beach in Mallorca, as well as sitting in your sauna in Norway.”

The power of sport, the power of a name
Throughout Europe and even around the globe, Eurosport is synonymous with sport. The brand enjoys incredible recognition and respect. “We are aware of the power of the name Eurosport and what it evokes. We capitalise on this strength every time we launch a new media or service. Today, all the brands under the Eurosport umbrella share the same family name; Eurosport, Eurosport 2, EurosportNews, Europsort Events, Eurosport HD…” explains Heather.

Eurosport by CoolBrands

The force of the Eurosport brand becomes clear when Jacques tells a striking anecdote. Jacques: “I was watching a TV game show once and a boy of around eight or nine years old was shown a couple of flags, and was asked to guess the country that each flag represented. When he saw the European flag he spontaneously answered: ‘Eurosport’. Doesn’t that say it all?” Jacques also told
us the story of a Japanese Olympic medal-winning fencer who said: “I wish I had learned to speak many languages because once I was attending a press conference after a competition and I was very frustrated because I was unable to makea comment for the most influential sports channel, Eurosport.”

“Our people are the real success-factor within Eurosport”
The success of Eurosport is fuelled by sheer passion and great experience. Jacques: “The expertise of our 700 international staff members, representing over 37 different nationalities, is amazing. It is their passion that inspires me and makes going to work every day a real pleasure. I love working with such an extraordinary “dream team”. It is their passion, dedication and experience that make Eurosport such an admirable brand and company.

One of Eurosport’s core objectives is to cover all sporting disciplines equally and not focus solely on the big-hitting events. Eurosport’s editorial, production and technical teams work behind the scenes and screens to bring the best LIVE sports coverage to fans around the world. Jacques explains: “One of Eurosport’s trade secrets is the efficient, service-oriented and perfectionist team that is working behind each event and each development. These qualities are necessary in a stressful, time-pressured business like ours. We have to respect delays and we have to deliver no matter what the circumstances, covering LIVE sport is like playing in the competition itself. Regardless, the show must go on with or without us.”

Eurosport by CoolBrands

Staying ahead of the game …
Another success factor is Eurosport’s ability to adapt to change. Jacques: “We are always on the move; we never rest on our laurels. We evolved from analogue to digital, from one channel to five. Eurosport simply understands sports and sporting events in all their complexity; from ratings to TV rights and beyond. Our knowledge enables us to transform these elements into what makes interesting and compelling programming.”

Eurosport embraces new technologies, which the future Y-generation will use or is already using. Jacques: “They will be the ones changing our medium, from linear (the classic TV station with a fixed schedule) to non-linear consumption of media. This includes the development of video on demand services, enabling the consumer to watch a programme on any device, anywhere, anytime.”

More than a TV channel, Eurosport offers an incredible multi-media sports platform with content and programming available on air, online, on the ground and on the move. Always innovating, Eurosport was the first broadcaster to forge a cross-media partnership with an online giant. Under the ‘Yahoo! Eurosport’ co-brand, Eurosport not only wields the biggest online sports portal in Europe today, but was also shortlisted for ‘Sports Brand of the Year’ at the Sports Industry Awards in 2008.

Eurosport’s future looks bright and Jacques is confident: “Despite the current ecominic crisis and despite the ever-changing media landscape, things are going well for Europsort. The relevance of our pan-European business model and the power of our brand are paying off!”

Beyond borders
Eurosport’s expansion will be focusing on new broadcast territories in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Jacques: “Geographical expansion is in our DNA. The recent Olympic Games in Beijing have introduced Asian audiences to European sports. As we are already present in South-east Asia, the next countries we will focus on are China, India and Japan. Just like Central Asia, Eastern Europe is a growth region with significant economic development in recent years. These regions will be key when it comes to expansion”.

The goal for the near future is also clear. Jacques: “The year 2009 will be successful and our challenge is to become stronger on all aspects of our business in a more challenging environment.” To maintain its leadership in the next 20 years, Eurosport Group is already preparing for tomorrow. Jacques: “We are innovating with new technology and pioneering new business models, in order to transform the sports media experience for fans. We recently successfully invested in High-Definition TV, and now we will continue to invest in internet”.

Eurosport also has another growing asset; Eurosport Events, an entity specialising in sports event-management and production. Jacques: “We apply our expert knowledge of sports and technology, to better stage big sports events. We already have over 40 events in our portfolio. We have improved the production and communication of such events, introduced HD and improved programme schedules. The result is amazing: it is growing beyond Eurosport!” Heather agrees: “The way we produce and film events shows that we really place fans at the heart of the live action. For example, our innovative LIVE production made the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally one of the most exciting-ever televised rally events.”

Our promise, to deliver the best in sports entertainment

Eurosport is and always will be committed to providing audiences with top quality sports entertainment across all media platforms. All the Group’s future developments will keep that primary goal in mind. Sport will always be a magic ingredient in Eurosport’s recipe for success and Eurosport’s team will keep their passion for the brand alive. Jacques: “Eurosport is synonymous with sport. It shares the same values, the excitement, the challenges, the competition, the wins and losses, the sweat, the tears and laughter. It is such a privilege to work for Eurosport!”

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PDF
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