How Eurosport created a broadcast-quality digital video experience for millions of viewers across Europe for the Olympic Winter Games

About Eurosport

Eurosport is the number one sport destination in Europe, unlocking the power of sport through localised content from the world’s greatest sporting events.

With an average of 30 million unique users per month. Eurosport Events specializes in the management and promotion of international sporting events.

Eurosport is part of the Discovery, Inc. family, the global leader in real life entertainment, serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains.

The Challenge

As the new home of the Olympics in Europe, Discovery and its leading sports brand, Eurosport, looked to transform the viewing experience for the Olympic Winter Games. Eurosport had high ambitions, offering fans the chance to see every minute of the Games live for the first time across Europe via its digital services. The eyes of the world were on the most prestigious sports event on the planet, and Eurosport’s coverage demanded a broadcast-quality digital video experience for its viewers.

Eurosport required a video platform that could integrate with its 3rd party partners for monetization and analytics as well as provide flawless video playback. With limited time to prepare in the build up to its first Games, Eurosport also sought a partner that was nimble enough to handle quick implementation and be responsive as the project evolved.

Why Eurosport Chose JWP

Eurosport chose JW Player to exclusively stream its inaugural Olympic Games coverage on its owned and operated website platforms. After assessing potential vendors, the company found that “JW Player provided the full suite of services we required to deliver first-class user experience,” said Andrea Fanfani, Olympic Digital Product Manager for Eurosport.

JW Player’s platform and lightweight player offered tangible solutions for delivering exceptional video. “We chose JW Player for a mix of the cleanliness of the code, the easy integration with our other partners, and the impact on user experience,” said Fanfani.

“All the systems had to be ready on the same day and same time,” said Fanfani. “The key for us was to integrate all of our partners seamlessly. JW Player was the necessary ‘glue’ to drive performance.”

How JWP Responded

JW Player’s robust integrations and premium technology empowered Eurosport to scale its digital’s coverage of the Winter Olympics at speed, and without interruption. With a platform that integrated with their 3rd party partners, Eurosport was able to achieve a seamless and upgraded monetization and analytics process.

In total, Eurosport streamed 4,000 hours of programming and content to 48 markets in 21 languages on its global homepage and local versions of the site. The coverage included 900 hours of live action, which complied with the event’s requirements for secure live streaming.

Across more than 100 Olympic events, every video was delivered with zero downtime. “The video delivery for the Olympic Games was incredibly efficient–helping us deliver the first truly digital Games across Europe,” said Fanfani. “With JW Player, sports fans were able to view thousands of videos on our platforms in perfect quality.”

Following the success of the Olympic Games project, Eurosport now intends to use JW Player for future sporting events, including the Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the U.S Open, and the Tour de France. “JW Player is the premium player of our big events in 2018,” said Fanfani.