European public TV networks launch free-to-air sports streaming platform under Eurovision banner

GENEVA — The collective of European public broadcasters launched a free-to-air streaming service Monday to show major championships in many Olympic sports.

The first big event for the Eurovision Sport website and mobile application is the World Aquatics Championships being held in Qatar through Feb. 18. The biathlon worlds start Wednesday in the Czech Republic and will also be aired.

Many of the European Broadcasting Union’s more than 100 member networks are already rights holders for at least some of the events.

Though many individual governing bodies of Olympic sports have their own streaming platforms, the Eurovision service is designed to bundle them under a single registration and log-in for viewers.

“In this fragmented digital world, it is difficult and expensive for sports fans to find and access the sport they love and for sports federations to attract new audiences,” the EBU’s sports director, Glen Killane, said. “This digital platform provides a solution to both of those problems.”

The Eurovision streaming service is designed to work with EBU members’ own websites and steer viewers toward other broadcasts.

Events on its schedule include the European championships in track and field, gymnastics and swimming ahead of the Paris Olympics that open July 26.

The Geneva-based EBU said just one in three sports fans has access to premium pay-TV sports channels.

EBU director general Noel Curran said the project aims to “democratize access to live sports coverage and help grow individual sports through visibility and engagement.”