EBU Sport makes key organisational changes
The EBU has reshuffled its sport department ahead of a major sports calendar, including the Olympic Games from 2026.
Andreas Aristodemou will assume the role of director of Olympics, Frédéric Sanz has been promoted to the newly expanded position of head of summer sports and cycling and Jean-Baptiste Casta will assume the role of director of business operations and the Eurovision Sport Platform.
EBU Sport executive director Glen Killane said: “These appointments are an acknowledgment of the wonderful talent we have in our Sports Team at the EBU which has consistently achieved positive results in a fiercely competitive arena.
“We remain totally focussed on delivering top results for our Members and our partners. The media landscape is changing rapidly, just as we are to ensure we continue to succeed.”
EBU Sport executive director Glen Killane will speak about the EBU’s plans for its Eurovision Sport streaming platform at Create Share Engage 2024, a one-day event for sports federations, leagues, associations, clubs and other rights owners, as well as broadcasters, agencies and producers, that will focus on creating and distributing sports content, and engaging fans, across social media, streaming and other digital platforms. For more information and to register visit svgeurope.org
Andreas Aristodemou will assume the role of director of Olympics, succeeding Pascal Fratellia. Andreas, who has been an integral part of the team since May 2015, has held key leadership positions in Eurovision Sport, including serving as senior sports project manager for Football from 2015 to 2018, followed by a stint as head of aquatic sports in 2019, with additional support in football.
Since 2020, Andreas has served as head of summer sports, where he has made significant contributions to the EBU’s sporting portfolio and played a key role in the acquisition process for the Olympic Games rights for the period 2026-2032, successfully secured by the EBU last year. In his new role, he will be responsible for all IOC matters and will join the Sport Management Team, reporting to Glen Killane, Executive Director, EBU Sport.
Frédéric Sanz has been promoted to the newly expanded position of head of summer sports and cycling. Since joining the EBU in 2015, Frédéric has played a pivotal role in the summer sports team, initially as senior sports rights manager and later as the head of cycling operations.
He has overseen prestigious Men and Women cycling properties such as the Tour de France, Vuelta, and UCI Cycling World Championships. He also played a key role in the acquisition process for the Olympic Games rights for the period 2026-2032. In his expanded role, Frédéric will oversee the entire summer sports portfolio, including athletics, aquatics and gymnastics and will continue to report to Adrian Fikentscher, director of acquisitions, sales and partnerships, EBU Sport.
In response to the evolving digital landscape, Jean-Baptiste Casta will assume the role of director of business operations and the Eurovision Sport Platform, further solidifying the EBU’s position in the digital arena.
Jean-Baptiste has had a key role in the Sport team since 2015 when he joined as Senior Sports Rights Manager – Football from Sportfive International. Since then, he has been head of business development and head of strategy & business operations respectively and played a major role in strategic projects and more recently in the development of the innovative new digital sport platform (pictured, right), the EBU’s first direct-to-consumer sport streaming platform and a game-changer for sports broadcasting. Jean-Baptiste is part of the Management Team and continues to report to Glen Killane, Executive Director of EBU Sport.
Glen Killane, executive director, EBU Sport, said: “These appointments are an acknowledgment of the wonderful talent we have in our Sports Team at the EBU which has consistently achieved positive results in a fiercely competitive arena. We remain totally focussed on delivering top results for our Members and our partners. The media landscape is changing rapidly, just as we are to ensure we continue to succeed.”
There will be a gradual handover period effective from 1 June to ensure “uninterrupted service delivery, reaffirming the EBU’s commitment to Members during these organisational changes”, the EBU said.