WBD to deliver Weekend of Champions across Europe
June 8, 2023
Wall-to-wall live coverage will showcase the volume of Warner Bros Discovery Europe’s sports portfolio on the weekend of June 10th – 11th. Dubbed the Weekend of Champions, over 300 Warner Bros Discovery staff, including production staff, experts and reporters will be on-site across a host of location over the weekend – from the UEFA Champions League Final to Roland-Garros and Le Mans and more.
WBD will deliver over 70 hours of live content to millions of sports fans across the continent across multiple platforms.
Ensuring maximum promotion across key events, a host of experts will take part in live crosses across the weekend. Legendary driver Tom Kristensen will join Eurosport’s coverage of Roland-Garros from Le Mans ahead of the women’s singles final while mountain bike presenter Kate Mason will link up with live coverage of Speedway GP in Teterow from Lenzerheide in Switzerland.
Over the weekend, 370 live feed and PCR recordings have been booked while WBD will have 70 concurrent events planned for its digital platforms while PCRs will be open across Europe including London, Paris, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, the Netherlands, Warsaw, Madrid, Milan and Munich.
Scott Young, Senior Vice President, Content and Production, at WBD, said: “The Weekend of Champions on 10-11 June represents an extraordinary feat of engineering, technological innovation and expertise within our world-class presentation and production teams without whom our wall-to-wall coverage of some of the biggest events in sport would not be possible. The complexity of simultaneously broadcasting multiple events across numerous channels and platforms in 20 languages to millions of fans in 50 markets across Europe alone is unprecedented and only Warner Bros Discovery has the capacity to make this happen at this scale. New stories will be told at these events and we will be there to ensure fans can experience the greatest champions writing sporting history on the biggest weekend of the year.”
UEFA Champions League Final
The UEFA Champions League reaches its climax on June 10th with the final broadcast exclusively live on BT Sport from the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul for viewers in the United Kingdom. In addition, BT Sport customers over the weekend of 10-11 June can also enjoy live coverage of the sixth round of the 2023 MotoGP season from Mugello and UFC 289 from Vancouver in Canada, as well as all Eurosport’s offering in the UK thanks to already enjoying complimentary access to discovery+.
Who will be the king and queen of clay at Roland-Garros?
Broadcast live on Eurosport 1, Eurosport App and discovery+, Barbara Schett, Mats Wilander, Chris Evert and John McEnroe will present live coverage of both men’s and women’s singles finals from Philippe-Chatrier as the second Grand Slam of the Year reaches an exciting climax at Roland-Garros in Paris. Eurosport 2 will also broadcast live coverage of both men’s and women’s doubles finals on Saturday and Sunday.
Le Mans to celebrate its centenary year
Coverage of the iconic 24h of Le Mans will be split across Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 on Saturday and Sunday, with uninterrupted coverage on discovery+ and Eurosport App throughout the day and night ensuring fans don’t miss a minute of the most iconic race on the endurance racing calendar. Nine-time winner of Le Mans Tom Kristensen will offer expert analysis live on-site, increased RF coverage will bring fans more behind-the-scenes content while there will be additional feeds available to viewers with access to up to 15-onboard cameras. On race-day, there will also be localised feeds for both Eurosport France and pan-Europe to celebrate the centenary of this unique event. Whetting the appetite in the lead-up to the 24h of Le Mans, Eurosport – in partnership with Rolex – will launch 24 short films exploring the history and mystique of one of the world’s greatest races, culminating in a one-hour documentary to be broadcast on June 9th hosted by Tom Kristensen.
Mountain Biking heads to Switzerland
The picturesque high valley alpine resort of Lenzerheide provides the backdrop for the next round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup with fans of downhill racing set to be able to watch their heroes on two-wheels for the first time this season. Eurosport 2, GCN+, discovery+ and Eurosport App will present three hours of cross-country coverage from Friday to Sunday hosted by Kate Mason and Hayley Edmonds on reporting duties joined on-site by mountain bike-royalty Cedric Gracia and Bart Brentjes. Live coverage will be delivered by over 20 cameras, accompanied by state-of-the-art FPV (First Person View) drones and will be bookended by an extensive build-up to the race as well as a one-hour review show to dissect the action in depth.
Teterow awaits as speedway’s finest go toe-to-toe
Continuing its unrivalled coverage of Speedway GP, discovery+ and Eurosport App will be the destination for fans of two-wheeled motorcycling on Saturday with both qualifying and the main event in Teterow in Germany available to watch across Europe. A 30-minute pre-event show will be hosted by Abi Stephens while four-times Speedway World Champion Greg Hancock will offer expert analysis throughout. Pro rider Scott Nicholls will ensure viewers don’t miss any of the key moments in his role as roving reporter. Fans will be able to get closer to the action that ever before with 16 pit cameras (eight streamed at one time); four on-board cameras including two bike cameras, one start marshal camera and one race director camera, in addition to RF and ISO cameras. Each Speedway GP winner in Teterow will also be equipped with a live camera to provide fans with unique first-person views of the podium ceremony following each race.
Extensive coverage of the world’s best on WBD platforms
Eurosport 2 will present live coverage of the last two stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné road cycling race on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. A special edition of Eurosport France’s Rois de la Pedale will support the live action during the week ensuring local fans are kept-up-to-date with every breakaway and incident throughout the eight-stage race. Eurosport 2 will also be the destination for the final two rounds of the PGA Tour’s Canadian Open from Oakdale Golf & Country Club in Toronto.
Viewers in Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Poland and France will be able to enjoy even more premium sport on WBD platforms throughout the weekend. Sports fans in the Netherlands and Spain will also be able to enjoy UFC 289 from Vancouver, Lega Basket Serie A will be available for fans of basketball in Italy while there will be Climbing World Cup action for those watching in France and Poland.