The Infront agency has said the European Handball Federation’s men’s Euro 2020 will be covered by 85 broadcasters across the world as it commenced today (Thursday).
Infront is the exclusive media and marketing partner of the EHF, helping to deliver the first edition of the Euros to be held across three countries – Sweden, Austria and Norway – and the first to feature 24 national teams.
Public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF will ensure free-to-air broadcast in Germany, while free-to-air agreements have also been reached with ORF in Austria, TF1 in France and Nordic Entertainment Group (Nent) in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The EHF’s dedicated OTT channel, EHFTV.com, will also stream coverage from the tournament.
The increase in matches and further behind-the-scenes video content for television and social media means around 160 hours of coverage will be delivered by Infront Productions, the agency’s broadcast production arm.
Two super-slow-motion cameras have been introduced from the start of the tournament, providing new options for broadcasters to use during breaks in play and highlights. A total of 11 cameras will film the preliminary rounds, increasing to 13 in the main round and 15 in the final round.
The women’s EHF Euro 2018 introduced automated highlights through Infront’s collaboration with WSC Sports and over 1,200 videos were produced – approximately 10 times more than any previous event. This led to almost 20 million views through media partners, participating teams and influencers.
Automated videos will return for EHF Euro 2020, with sponsors benefitting from branded highlights which can be shared via their social channels. Minute.ly will be used for the first time at an EHF tournament, automatically generating teasers designed to secure greater video engagement.
The EHF’s signed a 10-year media and marketing rights agreement with Infront and media company DAZN Group that covers club and national team competitions and runs from 2020 to 2030. However, the agreement excludes the 2020 EHF Euros as they were part of a previous deal with Infront.
At the EHF Euro 2020 tournament, DEEP will also create data-driven infographics whilst Antourage will enable the EHF content team to livestream from one device to multiple social media channels at the same time. This will all be tracked by Videocites, an AI-based tracking and analytics tool which calculates engagement and reach of all EHF-produced content, providing insights into earned media value for sponsors.
Julien Ternisien, senior vice-president of summer sports at Infront, said: “This edition of the tournament has allowed Infront and the EHF to successfully introduce new technology and broaden the tournament’s online footprint. It will bring tremendous benefits for clients, sponsors and – ultimately – fans.”