The International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have extended their exclusive media rights and production partnership, ensuring fans can continue to follow the world’s best biathletes across EBU Members’ and partner services until 2034. The new agreement takes a partnership that began in 1993 into its fifth decade, reflecting biathlon’s enduring and growing appeal.

The extension runs from the 2030/31 season to the end of the 2033/34 season, building on the current agreement, which runs until 2030. The EBU will continue to hold the exclusive worldwide* media rights and, together with EBU Members, act as host broadcaster, producing international coverage for audiences around the world.

The agreement covers 3 IBU World Championships, in 2031, 2032 and 2033. It also includes 4 IBU Open European Championships and 4 IBU Junior World Championships, from 2031 to 2034. Each season brings 58 competitions as part of the IBU World Cup.

Rights holders receive at least 150 hours of international coverage each regular season, spread across 14 weeks/weekends. The most recent IBU World Championships in Lenzerheide in 2025 attracted a record 27 rights holders, reaching audiences in 53 territories across Europe, with more than 20 broadcasters on site. On average 35 million people were reached per World Cup in the 2025/2026 season with 391 million hours viewed and an average market share across EBU members of 17.5% - its highest ever – rising to up to 65%. This growing reach, including in countries without a traditional biathlon following, demonstrates the strength of the product and provides a strong foundation for the sport’s continued development.

Olle Dahlin, IBU President, said:

“The IBU’s longstanding partnership with the EBU has been critical to extending biathlon’s reach and reinforcing its position as Europe’s most watched winter sport. The evolution of our work with the EBU has seen huge growth not just in broadcast but across digital platforms. The extension of our partnership is therefore a testament to the value of biathlon and its ever-growing appeal across Europe and beyond. With this agreement we have secured a bright future for biathlon, driving us towards our strategic goals of increasing the number of athletes, fans and commercial opportunities for our sport.”

Glen Killane, Executive Director, EBU Sport said:

"For more than 30 years, the EBU has brought biathlon into millions of homes and made it a winter fixture across Europe. Partnerships that last that long are rare in sport. This extension will keep world-class biathlon freely accessible to millions of fans, while giving our Members, partners, athletes, National Federations and Organizing Committees certainty for years to come. And it means we can keep raising the standard of how we bring the sport to new and existing audiences.”

Building on their established work to make biathlon broadcasting more sustainable, in line with IBU’s Sustainability Strategy, the IBU and EBU will continue to put sustainability and innovation at the heart of their production strategy. Together with EBU Members and partners, they will build on initiatives that have already reduced the environmental impact of production, while exploring new technologies and production models that can further improve efficiency and reduce the resources required to bring biathlon to audiences around the world.

From left: Glen Killane, Executive Director, EBU Sport, Olle Dahlin, IBU President, Tim Farcnik, IBU Executive Board Member and unopposed Presidental Candidate, and Max Cobb, IBU Secretary General sign the media rights and partnership agreement

The IBU and EBU are also strengthening their collaboration in the digital space, as biathlon stakeholders and EBU Members continue to see growing audiences for biathlon across their digital platforms. The Biathlon Content Hub complements broadcast coverage by providing athletes, National Federations and EBU Members with content tailored to their needs, helping biathlon reach the widest possible audience.

Last season alone, the IBU saw a 173% increase in impressions, 128% increase in reach and a 70% increase in engagement across its social channels. The sport’s strong digital presence was reinforced during Milano Cortina 2026 with biathlon being the most engaging of any single discipline at the Olympic Games on social media.

Eurovision Sport, the EBU’s free sports streaming platform, builds on this ambition. Created through the collaboration of EBU Members and the sports content they make available, the platform complements Member and partner broadcast coverage, extending the reach of biathlon and making more live and on-demand content freely accessible to audiences across Europe and beyond.

* Excluding Belarus and Russia

Photo: IBU/Manzoni