EURO reaches new digital heights in 2016
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
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UEFA EURO 2016 saw UEFA set numerous records across its digital platforms, with almost 300 million visits to the official tournament website and huge engagement on social media.
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The biggest football event of the year, EURO 2016 smashed records of engagement on UEFA's official digital platforms and helped to capture the imagination of fans worldwide.
The figures speak for themselves with almost 300 million visits to EURO2016.com and the official apps between the eve of the tournament on 9 June and the day after the final on 11 July – almost four times the levels reached during UEFA EURO 2012.
"I am proud of the success we managed to achieve on our digital communications platforms during UEFA EURO 2016," Pedro Pinto, UEFA's Chief of Communications and Media explained.
"We set records in terms of visitors, reach and engagement with supporters, and that comes down to the work we did internally to prepare, and the execution across all platforms during the tournament. It was a great team effort," he added.
Key statistics: EURO2016.com
• 298 million visits to all UEFA platforms
• 1.5 billion page views
• 70% of viewers used mobile platforms
• 55% increase in website visits compared to UEFA EURO 2012
• 14% of visits from fans in UK
The majority of the staggering 1.5 billion page views were from mobile platforms, giving fans and journalists easy access to facts and analysis on the move.
Featuring live statistics, reporters embedded with every team and photos of the action on fans' screens within 30 seconds of the event, EURO2016.com was the online destination – a one-stop-shop – for fans following the tournament.
Social media: #EURO2016
UEFA's official social media platforms also received huge numbers during the tournament and, according to industry experts, took coverage to a new level.
"UEFA set a new bar for fan engagement at a football tournament with their innovative use of Twitter, Vine and Periscope at EURO 2016," said Alex Trickett, head of sport at Twitter UK and global sports chair. "They brought the star players closer to fans by posing Twitter-sourced questions to every man of the match."
"UEFA's efforts contributed to one of the most engaging sporting events ever on our platforms," said Dan Reed, Facebook's head of global partnerships.