Eurosport To Rebrand With New Logo, Scrap 'Ring Of Stars'

Eurosport is set for its "most radical overhaul in its 26-year history" as new owner Discovery unveils a new image that aims to shed the "baggage" of its heritage of "cheaper sports rights and production to reflect investment in premium content such as the Olympics," according to Mark Sweney of the London GUARDIAN. Discovery is to unveil a string of changes from Friday including a new logo that will see the "ring of stars" that have run on-screen since launch in '89 scrapped. Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton said that Discovery is "heralding a new era." Hutton: "It is a great old brand that everyone in Europe has grown up with as a pay-TV sports brand. It is linked in people’s heads with [some] second-tier sports and non-exclusive rights and that isn’t what we have been sent here to do [with the company]. The problem with a brand as old as Eurosport is it brings a lot of associations with it." The ring of stars, which have been reduced to a single star "as a nod to history" in the new logo, were introduced at launch to represent the European states when Eurosport was first launched by the European Broadcasting Union and Sky (GUARDIAN, 11/12). THE DRUM's John McCarthy reported new Eurosport VP of Marketing & Franchise Management Antonio Ruiz said that the changes will bring the brand "to a different level." He claimed that the redesign will "bring the brand up to par" with new owner Discovery, which he dubbed the "number one storytelling brand in the world." On the new logo, Ruiz said, "We wanted to keep the heritage of Eurosport, it is a very strong brand so we thought it was good to keep one of the stars in the new logo -- modern and stylish but keeping the essence of the original, transmitting the heritage" (THE DRUM, 11/12). REUTERS' Kate Holton reported Eurosport "now aims to build audiences around channels more suited to these national tastes, using big name on-screen presenters" and pundits well known in each country. The firm said it would also adopt the so-called Rupert Murdoch "battering ram approach" to promote itself, where a broadcaster uses its "best assets, or content, to attract customers and then promote other products." In this case, some Eurosport programming will be used on Discovery's free-to-air channels to reach a wider audience. Hutton said that the battle by the likes of Murdoch's Sky, BT and Canal Plus for the most expensive rights "had caused problems for Eurosport in the past, but offered opportunities." He said, "(But now) as Sky and BT spend so much money around the football you actually see them spending a lot less around the other sports and that's a good opportunity for us" (REUTERS, 11/12).

'FUEL YOUR PASSION': ROYAL TELEVISION SOCIETY's Sarah Carson reported Eurosport has announced that its new brand identity will be revealed on-air on Friday, with the strapline "Fuel Your Passion" to be supported by a #sharemypassion social media campaign. The campaign "encourages fans to share stories about the extraordinary lengths they go to in order to demonstrate their love for their athlete, team or sport." Eurosport hopes it will encourage viewers to engage with the brand and with sports they love, at any time, on any device, at an "exciting time for the company" (RTS, 11/12).