European Handball Federation (EHF) and its exclusive media and marketing partner Infront set new benchmark as digital also lays foundation for future commercial success
Zug, Switzerland – The Men’s EHF EURO 2024 secured the largest broadcast reach in the event’s history, increasing the audience by over a third on the previous edition whilst also improving on the overall broadcast time.
Almost 40 million event impressions were recorded through almost 6,000 hours over coverage according to analysis from Nielsen. This was an improvement of 12% on the 2022 event whilst the cumulative audience also grew by 18% to 1.2bn.
Sponsorship impressions and QI media value also increased, reaching 190 million (up 38%) and 538 million (up 32%), respectively. The main round reached a live audience of over 45 million in key markets ahead of its final weekend in Germany.
Long-term digital goals paying dividends
The reach across all digital platforms also skyrocketed to 764 million, marking a 114% increase over the previous tournament. On EHF channels engagements almost tripled to 14 million, reflecting a 247% improvement.
Video views reached 210 million, a 65% improvement on the last edition. The match predictor feature saw user data capture increase by over 400%, while All-Star team voting went up 113%. Infront’s Activation Engine also captured zero and first-party data from 5,000 users, further enhancing user experience and engagement through tailored content and interactions.
All of this resulted in an increase in the digital media value which exceeded EUR5 million, up by 93%.
Michael Wiederer, EHF President, said: The TV figures and digital numbers reached in Germany underline what the EHF EURO is: a top-class international sports product. In its overall development, the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 marked a new milestone: Never did we witness more hours of European handball being broadcast, never did we engage more fans with the digital content produced. Together with our long-term partner Infront we can be proud of our efforts and believe that the approach we took can be a template for our work at future EHF EURO events.”
Julien Ternisien, Senior Vice President of Summer and Winter Sports, Infront said: "These metrics serve as a clear indicator of the burgeoning appeal of the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 and the commercial opportunities it presents. These figures are a testament to handball's growing appeal and the effectiveness of our joint and long-term strategic approach with EHF to reach new fans.”
