En spot on. While the French team has dominated the podiums since the start of the biathlon season, the audiences for the different specialties of the discipline broadcast on the L’Équipe Channel are soaring, so that the channel has achieved the best start in biathlon. on its antenna: 700,000 televiewers on average (including four races gathered more than one million televiewers), that is to say + 7% in one year. An unexpected success for a discipline which has less than a thousand licensees in France, but which seduces and attracts a good number ofaficionados in front of their television set.
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“This is THE channel’s premium soap opera. Sport is king with us. Our Olympics! », Rejoices Messaoud Benterki, presenter of the events on the Channel L’Équipe. “For several years, biathlon has become an essential and essential sport on our antenna”, continues the journalist. Broadcast since 2015 on TNT channel 21, the major biathlon events are meeting a singular television craze.
So when Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie) hosts the fourth round of the World Cup in the discipline, the sports channel puts the small dishes in the big ones. Because at exceptional event, exceptional device. In order to bring viewers to the tricolor stage in the most beautiful way, the Chaîne L’Équipe has chosen to relocate its platforms and teams at the foot of the slopes of the famous Aravis resort. “In total, there are about forty of us in Grand-Bornand,” explains Maël Seror, deputy editor in charge of Olympic sports. “The idea is to show that we are doing something huge for this unique event. So we clearly put the package. “
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A discipline which has less than 1,000 licensees in France
But then, how to explain this fantastic attraction for a discipline which counts less than 1000 licensees in the Hexagon? “Biathlon is a fantastic and telegenic sport. It has all the codes of suspense, of the stake, of the dramaturgy. A race can be restarted at any time since the slightest shot can tip everything, ”explains Messaoud Benterki. “There is also a form of public admiration for these athletes because it is a very tough sport. And then it must be said that since the success of Martin Fourcade, the public has become attached to this sport and continues to follow the performance of French biathletes despite the retirement of Fourcade. It’s magic for a channel like ours. “
“Biathlon is a very accessible discipline for those who are not necessarily fans,” adds Maël. “Things happen all the time: starts, shootings, finishes or podiums are all events that we bring to viewers. Our goal is for people on the sofa to feel like they are in the stands, on the shooting range, facing the mountains… ”.
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A love story that will continue for a few more years since the channel has effectively renewed its broadcasting agreement with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) until the 2025-2026 season. Thus, the Chaîne l’Équipe will offer 9 stages of the Biathlon World Cup each season (including Grand-Bornand in 2022, 2024 and 2026), but also the World Championships in 2023 (Oberhof – Germany), 2024 (Nove Mesto – Czech Republic) and 2025 (Lenzerheide – Switzerland). “Biathlon is a hit, it’s no secret. It has also become a fundamental right for the channel, and we don’t want the story to end there. We are only at the beginning and we have a lot of great things to do, ”concludes Maël Seror.
❄️ Biathlon and the L’Équipe channel, it’s a great story of LOVE ♥ ️
The adventure continues 4 MORE YEARS with free biathlon on @lachainelequipe until 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣
With each season 9 stages of the Biathlon World Cup! pic.twitter.com/IVYf8Jp614
– THE Pro TEAM (@lequipe_pro) December 18, 2021