05.12.2018, 05:50 VELUX EHF Champions League reviews a great first half of the season
Europe’s handball fans have been treated to one of the most thrilling editions of the VELUX EHF Champions League so far and there is still plenty more action to come
VELUX EHF Champions League reviews a great first half of the season
As Europe’s top club competition the VELUX EHF Champions League completes the first 10 rounds and 140 matches. Now EHF Marketing GmbH takes a look at the highlights so far.
TV coverage with huge market share in Denmark
38 TV partners are broadcasting the 2018/19 season to more than 80 territories this season, with worldwide coverage also guaranteed via the EHF’s own OTT platform, ehfTV.com.
There have been two stand-out matches: in the first round in Mannheim (Rhein-Neckar Löwen vs Barça Lassa) and in round 9 (Rhein-Neckar Löwen vs Telekom Veszprém), both covered by 24 broadcasters.
The huge interest in handball in Denmark also continues to drive TV audiences to the country’s public broadcaster, DR. The match Skjern Handbold against Paris Saint-Germain Handball notched up a market share of no fewer than 40%.
90 million impressions across social channel
Complementing the competition’s extensive broadcast agreements, fans can also follow across a range of a social media channels.
More than 90 million impressions were recorded so far this season on the main social media platforms, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as investment in additional digital content pays off.
Carlos Ruesga’s last-second goal against Chekhovski Medvedi (Round 2) has been the most successful video in social media for the first part of the season with 1 million views.
Faces engage fans
The faces of the competition, Hannah Jackson and Markus Floth, continue to play an active part in the success of the competition’s digital coverage.
Travelling to each Match of the Week (MOTW), they bring fans the latest news and stories from every host city via social media, offering fans a glimpse behind the scenes not normally shown on TV.
The MOTW visited eight different countries and nine different clubs so far.
New sponsors and partners
Off the court, this season has already been hailed a success.
With the introduction of two new sponsors at the start of this season, Nord Stream 2 as premium sponsor and Betano as regional betting partner, the Marketing rights for the VELUX EHF Champions League are officially sold out.
Plan International – the competition’s charity partner – brought pink to the competition in celebration of the Day of the Girl Child in the fifth round, and regional premium sponsor Gorenje continues to promote its award-winning #simplyfans campaign.
Action continues in February 2019
The European top flight now takes a winter break, resuming again in February. The final aim for every team is a place in the 10th edition of the VELUX EHF FINAL4, which will be played on 1/2 June 2019 in the LANXESS arena in Cologne.
