The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and European Athletics have extended their long-running media rights partnership through to the end of 2031, securing free-to-air coverage of the continent’s leading athletics events for another four years.
The agreement extends the current deal beyond 2027 and will cover the European Athletics Championships in 2028 and 2030, the European Athletics Indoor Championships in 2029 and 2031, four editions of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships and two editions of the European Athletics Team Championships.
The extension will take the relationship between the two organisations to an unprecedented milestone. By the time the new cycle begins, the partnership will have reached 50 years, making it one of the longest-running rights agreements in international sport.
EBU Director General Noel Curran said the extension reflected a shared commitment to keeping major sporting events available free-to-air.
Thirty EBU member broadcasters have already committed to carrying the events across the new rights period, ensuring extensive free-to-air coverage across Europe. In addition to traditional television coverage, the EBU’s streaming platform, Eurovision Sport, will continue to provide live and on-demand coverage for audiences worldwide.
The agreement also strengthens the EBU’s production role. Through production partner Actua Sport, the EBU will continue to act as host broadcaster for many of European Athletics’ major events.
European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov described the deal as confirmation of one of sport’s most successful long-term partnerships.
“As we look towards celebrating 50 years of partnership, this latest agreement confirms one of the longest-standing and most successful in international sport,” he said.
European Athletics CEO Christian Milz noted that by the start of the next rights cycle, the partnership will have delivered coverage of 74 major European Athletics events, including championships, indoor competitions and cross-country races.
For the EBU, the agreement represents another major rights renewal for a sport that continues to attract strong audiences across public service broadcasters.
The deal comes at a time when European sports rights are increasingly moving behind paywalls, making athletics one of the continent’s most widely available premium sports properties on free-to-air television.
