Since 1989, Eurosport has established itself as a household name in live sports, broadcasting some of the world’s leading sporting events, from Tennis Grand Slams to the cycling Grand Tours. Under the new ownership of Discovery, the sports destination has been supercharged, acquiring more must-have content and enhancing production to offer a premier experience to passionate sports fans. This was epitomised by 2015’s landmark deal in which Eurosport was awarded the rights to broadcast the Olympic Games in Europe from 2018-2024.
The company has launched a new identity in collaboration with Pentagram, who worked with Federico Gaggio - a strategic brand consultant to Eurosport - and DixonBaxi - who worked on the on-air branding and the advertising creative.
The rebrand follows Discovery’s acquisition of Eurosport which after it bought a majority stake in the sports destination in May 2014 and was completed in a €491m deal in October 2015. It also marks the first time that the brand has changed its core visual elements.
Pentagram has created a new logo for the broadcaster, as well as a brand hierarchy, identity style guide and merchandising. These applications had to be suitable for use both on and off air, across different channels, platforms and product identifiers, and throughout all internal communications.
Eurosport’s brand mark had barely changed in 26 years. It still retained the ten stars and italicised typography. Pentagram decided to use only a single star and keep its dynamic geometry. We also incorporated it into the E of the new single word logotype. This new pared back logotype is joined by a monogram, which is used for social media and merchandise.
The monogram also gives a nod to the channel’s new parent company. This is through the incorporation of the single star into the E, which uses a similar visual language to the small blue globe that sits within the D of the Discovery logo.
Red and blue have been retained as primary brand colours, but have been updated. An additional colour palette has also been developed to identify standalone products and to provide a flexibility for temporary applications, like marketing campaigns. The rebrand also introduces three new typefaces, Alpha Headline, Circular and Lexia.
Eurosport’s identity was launched in November 2015 and has been featured in The Guardian, Variety and Creative Review.
