Eurosport subs balance ad loss

Eurosport’s growing subscription revenues and a focus on multimedia platform costs have helped the TF1-owned channel counterbalance a loss in advertising revenues, which fell by 25.6% to €47.4 million in the first nine months of 2009. In all TF1′s international activities, consisting largely of Eurosport’s revenues and the interest in France 24 sold on February 12, made a profit of €35.7 million double that of the same period in 2008. The French thematic channel business resulted in a profit of €13 million.

Eurosport France has suffered under the advertising downturn, not helped by the absence of marquee events such as the Olympics, but at 7.4 million paying subscribers it is ahead of where it was in 2008.

The international version of the sports channel was available in 117.4 million homes at the end of September 2009, 2.4 million more than in September 2008, and including 75.8 million paying subscribers. Growth has come from 1.8 million subscribers in Poland, Romania and Russia and 900,000 in Southern Europe following new agreements with Dogan (Turkey), Sogecable (Spain) and Meo (Portugal).

Subscription revenues have been boosted by Eurosport HD, now in 4 million hones, and Eurosport 2 that reached 38 million paying subscribers.