Eurovision Sport extends IBU deal to 2026

The European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU’s) sports business Eurovision Sport has announced an extended media rights agreement with the International Biathlon Union (IBU) until 2026.

This new deal will come into effect in 2022 with an option to extend for a further four years. It will see Eurovision Sport – along with its network of free-to-air broadcast partners such as the BBC and Sveriges Television – retain the rights to all IBU events including the annual World Cup, the IBU Cup, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Youth World Championships.

This is the continuation of a deal that was first agreed more than two decades ago.

Stefan Kuerten, executive director Eurovision Sport, said: “It’s truly breathtaking to see the outstanding development of biathlon in free-to-all media over the last decades. We are proud to be IBU`s media partner since the very beginning . The reason for the success is the mutual commitment to our partnership and our common goal to reach the widest audience possible.”

Robert Portman, head of winter sport at Eurovision Sport, said: “Biathlon has become the number one winter sport and we are extremely delighted to work with the IBU long into the future. We have agreed to closely work to continuously improve the product. We are confident that together we will score great successes in the coming years.”

Olle Dahlin, IBU president, said: “We are thrilled to renew our longstanding partnership with Eurovision Sport. The agreement reflects the popularity of biathlon in Europe and around the world and the huge appetite there is to watch our events. The significant revenue increase will guarantee that our sport, our athletes, our national federations and our Organising Committees can develop according to the objectives set out in our strategic plan Target 26.”

Jiri Hamza, vice-president of the IBU, said: “This is a great day for the biathlon family and for our broadcasting partners. Due to its exposure on public free-to-air channels, biathlon has grown to be the leading winter sport in many countries. Through our renewed partnership with Eurovision Sport biathlon will grow and develop even further.”