“Googling, giggling and gaggling” – Eurovision in the Internet Era

Do not disturb mode, what a beautiful thing! If there is one thing my phone is good at it is constantly hounding me with notifications, this only seems to have gotten worse lately as everything shifts more and more online. Seriously, everything from shopping sites begging me to review my recent purchases to random mobile games desperate for me to log back in… It would be rather frustrating were it not so commonplace.

Truly the internet has reveloutionised our modern lifestyles in a phenomenal way. TV viewing habits is no exception to this rule of thumb. Nowadays, prime time television has more competition than ever before! Whilst in the early days of Eurovision, for many it was on one of the available radio channels (only the fortunate few would have had access to a television); nowadays we are bombarded with pages upon pages of TV channels, the radio, Netflix, YouTube, catch up TV services etc. Media is at our hands like never before and the competition is fierce. This can put a burden on television networks in retaining their audiences and is forecast to continue to add a pressure in the industry.

When push comes to shove, the old-fashioned broadcasting companies are having to grapple with this challenge in order to survive. As audience viewing habits shift away from being so dependent on that box in the middle of their living rooms, staying relevant is as important as ever. In a Eurovision related context of course, this means that the contest has to find ways to connect to people in order to maintain their audiences desire to watch the contest, rather than consuming one of the ever-growing number of alternatives. Part of this could also involve being flexible in the platform we find Eurovision on, much like how when TVs became more popular Eurovision started to be perceived moreso as a TV than a radio show.

I’m pleased to say the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) seems to be finding solution after solution to grow the contest despite or maybe even as a result of the ever changing landscape of the broadcasting sector. 183 million people tuned in to watch the 2021 edition of the contest. Its quite staggering to see that the tradition and dare I say prestige of this ‘silly song contest’ is captivating enough to draw masses together to this day. This was an increase on the previous 2019 contest, which again also shows that despite many challenges Eurovision is growing! Of course it is worth noting that with many people stuck inside during a pandemic, the comparison is of vastly different climates, however if you consider that the replacement coverage of 2020 (in the height of lockdowns) only had 70 million viewers it becomes very apparent that the allure of an actual Eurovision contest is strong enough to gather over a hundred million more viewers (even with arguably more available options).

Another interesting point to note is that whilst the contest has adapted to include an online stream on YouTube, more traditional viewing habits remain strong for the contest. The YouTube stream is of course a highly important and valuable addition to the contest, now sitting at more than 13.6 million views but compared to the total 183 million it is obvious that the value for EBU members also is reflected in the domestic viewing of their TV and radio channels.

Social media is also a very prominent part of the internet today (which yes Valentina has already highlighted for us) and it is important that the EBU utilise it to the full extent to generate interest, conversation and engagement in the contest. 1.7 million of us have liked the official Eurovision Facebook page (something a more casual audience member is very unlikely to have done) and receives regular updates regarding the contest on our Facebook timelines. It is maybe not in the hundreds of millions but it is a significant outreach and the brand recognition for the contest is greatly enhanced the more its posts are shared and promoted on social media. Eurovision is at our hands like never before.

If times are changing away from the time-honoured practise of tuning in our TV sets once a year for the Grand Prix then Eurovision is already branching out onto other platforms. However, the evidence seems to suggest that at least so far Eurovision’s legacy ensures it will always be a TV staple that keeps people wanting to come back for more. Technology is an incredible thing and whilst I don’t expect to be watching Eurovision from a virtual reality headset anytime soon, who knows what lies ahead. The important thing is that the contest is currently in a healthy place and the EBU do not appear to be being complacent about that either.

Do you have some pressing thoughts on this matter you would love to discuss? ‘Cause if you do, I’d love to hear them! Feel free to comment below or contact us on any of our social media pages, where of course you could also share this article and help grow the ESC Essence brand recognition! That’s all for today though folks, I hope to see you again here soon and maybe even hear from you, who knows?