American multinational media and entertainment conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery has secured the broadcast rights to next year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed a deal with World Athletics rights-holders Eurovision Sport and ESPN to broadcast next year’s nine-day event on its channels – Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2, the Eurosport app and streaming platform discovery+ – on a non-exclusive basis in over 45 countries across Europe.
In the UK, the coverage – which is behind a paywall on Eurosport – will also be available free-to-air on the BBC, after the public broadcaster agreed a five-championship deal in 2021.
Warner Bros. Discovery Vice President, Sports Rights Acquisitions and Syndication Trojan Paillot said, “We are proud to be a trusted partner to federations across a broad range of sports. Through our Warner Bros. Discovery channels and platforms, we possess an unmatched ability to scale coverage to the widest possible audience through our broad international reach and platform availability, offering more ways for viewers to engage with the sports they love.
“Our ambition is to tell the stories around the world’s greatest athletes all year round, including their journeys to compete at the biggest events including the World Athletics Championships and the Olympic Games.
“We are pleased to be able to harness our storytelling ability and comprehensive reach to shine a light on the World Athletics Championships, helping to raise even greater awareness of the sport and its athletes as we build to the Olympic Games Paris 2024.”
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, added, “I’m delighted to welcome Warner Bros. Discovery back into the high-powered portfolio of our World Championships broadcast partners.
“Eurosport has a long tradition of offering outstanding athletics coverage and this agreement will be welcomed by our fans across Europe, as it will give them even more opportunities to watch every amazing moment of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23. I have no doubt that this deal will help us to deliver on our strategy for growing the sport.”
The 2023 World Athletics Championships is set to take place at Budapest’s new National Athletics Center between 19th and 27th August 2023, in what will be the first time the event has taken place in central Europe.
With the Paris 2024 approaching, Warner Bros Discovery has recently been expanding its athletics coverage in Europe. Last month, the company launched its Mon Paris Olympique programme last month, which is broadcasting on Eurosport in France in the run-up to the Games.
Image: Shutterstock
