Handball's strong free-to-air footprint brings record TV audiences at Men's EHF EURO 2026

MEDIA RELEASE: Millions tune in for the final weekend of EHF EURO 2026, turning the championship’s medal matches into some of the most-watched games of all times.

The medal matches of the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 provided a tantalising spectacle on court – and the excitement made millions around the continent follow the action from their living rooms, as Denmark stormed to gold in a gripping final against Germany (34:27) on Sunday in Herning, while Croatia won bronze against Iceland (34:33). 

German broadcaster ZDF reported an audience of 12.82 million and a market share of 50.8 per cent for the final. On the European level, these are the best ratings for handball in Germany since EHF EURO 2016 when 12.98 million had tuned in for Germany’s victory against Spain at the championship in Poland. 

In Denmark, TV2 announced that more than 2 million Danes watched the end of the final which had an average audience of 1.77 million – a market share of approximately 85%. Already Friday’s semi-final, Denmark vs Iceland, had a peak viewership of more than 2 million. 

For the bronze medal match, 1.2 million tuned in from Croatia according to broadcaster RTL, as Croatia made it to the podium of the Men’s EHF EURO 2026. The match against Iceland achieved a market share of 60% among the key target group of people aged between 18 and 59. 

Meanwhile in Iceland, records were broken. According to broadcaster RÚV, Friday’s semi-final, Denmark vs Iceland, had an average viewership of 66.4% across the country – the most ever for any sporting event broadcast on the island. The previous record was held by the football match, Iceland vs Argentina (62.4%) at the 2018 World Cup. 

This match has now been ‘relegated’ to fourth place as also the bronze medal game, Croatia vs Iceland (63.1%) and Iceland’s match against Slovenia (62.5%) recorded higher viewership figures at the Men’s EHF EURO 2026.

Live coverage of the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 was secured by Infront, the EHF’s media and marketing partner, across more than 70 territories, underpinned by a strong free-to-air footprint. 

Martin Hausleitner, EHF Secretary General: “These figures are absolutely spectacular and underline the growing appeal of our sport. National team events such as the EHF EURO have an unmatched emotional impact. They foster national unity and awareness – an EHF EURO that is followed by millions is the perfect base to foster further growth and development of handball in Europe.”

Jens Mennigmann, Co-Head of Media at Infront, said: “These audiences underline the enduring strength of handball on broadcast. Working with the EHF and leading broadcasters across Europe, our focus was on building a distribution model that delivers both scale and relevance. These results speak for themselves.”

Across the 24 participating teams, matches were shown by various leading broadcasters, including: Viaplay (Sweden, Norway, Finland), TV2 Denmark, ORF (Austria), ARD & ZDF (Germany), France Télévisions/BeIN (France), TVE (Spain), RTP (Portugal), Eurosport/ TVP (Poland), Arena Sport (Balkans), SRG (Switzerland), RÚV (Iceland) and many more. Global live access was secured via EHFTV.com.

main image © Uros Hocevar / kolektiff