25.03.2026, 12:30
Record-breaking digital reach for European handball

MEDIA RELEASE: Digital content from the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 reached 1.2 billion people; the upcoming two championships approach decisive draw events in March and April

The Men’s EHF EURO 2026, the flagship national team event of the European Handball Federation, has set a new record for digital reach in European handball.

Over the course the tournament, which was played in Denmark, Sweden and Norway from 15 January to 1 February, almost 1.2 billion people were reached with content played out via the EHF’s channels, those of the participating federations as well as on selected players', broadcasters’ and partners’ channels*.

Compared to the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 in Germany, this is a plus of 52% — and the first time ever that the EHF EURO’s digital reach surpassed the mark of one billion.

Followers on the EHF’s channels grew by 171,000, video views stood at 243 million by the end of the monitoring period and three million engagements were recorded.

The record reach eventually generated a digital media value of €11.2 million for the championship’s partner, a plus of 115% compared to the Men’s EHF EURO 2024.

"For the first time, an EHF EURO tournament achieved a digital reach of more than one billion, representing a significant increase compared to previous tournaments. This growth was not only driven by EHF channels, but also by strong contributions from federations, broadcasters, sponsors and players, all of which expanded their digital activity," said Thomas Schöneich, Director Media and Communications at the European Handball Federation.

"This highlights the importance of the wider digital ecosystem in amplifying visibility and confirms the success of our collaborative content distribution. For future tournaments, we want to strengthen even further the collaboration with our key stakeholders. The aim is to better understand their content needs and tailor the assets distributed to them, ensuring they can easily access and share high-quality content."

James Chubb, Head of Handball at Infront, said: "The increase in reach is another indicator of how much the sport is growing its fanbase through tailored collaborations with broadcasters, players and other stakeholders. The number of platforms and methods needed to reach an audience in 2026 means sport has to have a multi-faceted approach to ensure every stage of the value chain - from sponsors and media partners through to fans - come away from an event satisfied. We're delighted to continue helping EHF achieve these goals as its exclusive commercial partner."

The roadmap for the upcoming two championships is firmly set. For the Men’s EHF EURO 2028, which will be played from 13 to 30 January 2028 in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland, the Qualifiers draw takes place on Thursday, 26 March at 18:00 hrs local time in Lisbon, Portugal.

The draw can be watched live on EHFTV and the EHF’s “Home of Handball” Youtube channel (geo-blocking may apply).

The next milestone for the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 is the final tournament draw in Katowice, Poland on 16 April. The championship, hosted by Poland, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia and Türkiye, takes place from 3–20 December 2026.
 
* the monitoring period included the days from 12 January to 8 February 2026

Main photo © kolektiff images/Jure Erzen

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