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RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Eurovision 2025 watched by 166 million
The Eurovision Song Contest confirmed its place as the world's biggest live televised music event with 166 million viewers in 37 countries watching the 2025 competition, organisers have said. This year's 69th edition in Basel, Switzerland, attracted three million more viewers than last year's contest in Malmö, Sweden, said the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The EBU said Eurovision had seen significant increases in youth engagement with a record 60% of viewers aged 15-24 tuning into the competition. The 17 May final was won by 24-year-old Austrian JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, singing Wasted Love, which blended techno beats with operatic vocals. "This year's Eurovision Song Contest has once again demonstrated its extraordinary power to unite millions across continents through the joy of music and shared celebration," said Eurovision director Martin Green. After the drama as the votes from national juries and the public were revealed, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel - whose participation drew protests - on 357, and Estonia on 356. Votes were cast from 146 states, with viewers in the United States and Canada voting the most outside Europe, ahead of Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa. The final commanded viewing shares were above 50% in 19 of the 37 European markets, led by Iceland (98%), Finland (91%), Sweden (90%), Norway (85%), and Denmark (75%). The viewing shares in Finland and in France (40%) were the highest ever for Eurovision in those countries. The highest average audience was in Germany, with 9.1 million viewers - the best figures since 2016, said the EBU. Meanwhile, there were 969 million views on Instagram and 748.5 million on TikTok. Following JJ's win, next year's event will be hosted in Austria. Last week, Eurovision director Martin Green released an open letter following voting concerns surrounding this year's competition. The statement came amid ongoing debates regarding Israel's promotion of its entry, as well as discussions among several national broadcasters about the current voting system. In his letter, Martin Green said Eurovision employs specially developed systems designed to prevent fraudulent voting. "Every year the Reference Group for the Contest, which contains representatives from and acts on behalf of our Members, studies the data provided by our voting partner Once to make recommendations of any actions available to us to ensure our rules and systems remain fail safe and take into account contemporary external factors such as advances in technology and external influences," he wrote. "This process will happen as it always does in June this year."
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Eurovision 2025 in Basel draws 166 million viewers in 37 countries, voting received from 146 states
GENEVA, May 29 — The Eurovision Song Contest confirmed its place as the world's biggest live televised music event, with 166 million viewers in 37 countries watching the 2025 competition, organisers said yesterday. This year's 69th edition in Basel, Switzerland, attracted three million more viewers than last year's contest in Malmo, Sweden, said the European Broadcasting Union. The EBU said Eurovision had seen significant increases in youth engagement with a record 60 percent of viewers aged 15-24 tuning in. The May 17 final was won by 24-year-old Austrian JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, singing 'Wasted Love', which blended techno beats with operatic vocals. 'This year's Eurovision Song Contest has once again demonstrated its extraordinary power to unite millions across continents through the joy of music and shared celebration,' said Eurovision director Martin Green. After the nail-biting drama as the votes from national juries and the public were revealed, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. Votes were cast from 146 states, with viewers in the United States and Canada voting the most outside Europe, ahead of Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa. The final commanded viewing shares above 50 percent in 19 of the 37 European markets, led by Iceland (98 percent), Finland (91 percent), Sweden (90 percent), Norway (85 percent), and Denmark (75 percent). The viewing shares in Finland, and in France (40 percent), were the highest ever for Eurovision. The highest average audience was in Germany, with 9.1 million viewers — the best figures since 2016, said the EBU. Meanwhile there were 969 million views on Instagram and 748.5 million on TikTok. Following JJ's win, next year's event will be hosted in Austria. — AFP
Irish Independent
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
EBU ‘looking into' promotion of acts and number of votes allowed following Eurovision voting controversy
Eurovision organiser, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has said it will look at the promotion of Eurovision acts 'by their delegations and associated parties', and the number of votes allowed per person amid calls for an audit of the voting system. Earlier this week, RTÉ requested a breakdown in Eurovision voting numbers. The Irish televote awarded Israel 10 points for Yuval Raphael's song New Day Will Rise, while the jury awarded seven points. RTVE, Spain's public broadcaster, called for a 'complete review' to avoid 'external interference', and VRT, the Flemish public broadcasting company also publicly raised concerns over the voting process. Belgium and Spain's televoters both awarded Israel 12 points, while the juries gave the country zero points. Israel was ranked joint 14th by the national juries but jumped to the top of the leader-board when it received 297 in the public vote. As it currently stands, viewers can currently vote up to 20 times each by phone, text or app. While the EBU says there is no evidence this affects the final result, it will discuss this rule at the annual Reference Group that takes place after the contest each year. We want to ensure that such promotion is not disproportionately affecting the natural mobilisation of communities and diasporas we see in all entertainment audience voting Some countries, including Israel, used advertising on social media channels to promote their act. In an 'open letter' on the Eurovision website, Martin Green, Director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said that the EBU would look into promotion of acts. 'Such promotion is allowed under our rules and acts to celebrate the artists, increase their profile and launch future careers – it's very much part of the music industry - but we want to ensure that such promotion is not disproportionately affecting the natural mobilisation of communities and diasporas we see in all entertainment audience voting,' he said. 'Another example is the number of votes we allow per person – 20 per payment method. This is designed to ensure that audiences of all ages can vote for more than one of their favourite songs and there is no current evidence that it disproportionately affects the final result – but the question has been asked and so we will look at it.' ADVERTISEMENT The EBU has said that the voting system is highly advanced and contains 'multiple security layers and a comprehensive set of rules to ensure that a valid result is generated'. Mr Green said that over 60 individuals in Cologne and other individuals in Vienna and Amsterdam 'monitor the voting process in each country and maintain direct contact with telecommunication and broadcasting partners globally'. The results are then independently authenticated by compliance monitor EY. He said all the concerns and feedback will be considered at the annual reference group for the contest which will take part in June this year. The Song Contest was won on Saturday night by Austrian singer JJ with his techno ballad Wasted Love.
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Eurovision director addresses voting concerns in open letter
Martin Green, the director of the Eurovision Song Contest, has released an open letter following voting concerns surrounding this year's competition. The statement comes amid ongoing debates regarding Israel's promotion of its entry, as well as discussions among several national broadcasters about the current voting system. Earlier this week, RTÉ requested a breakdown in Eurovision voting numbers from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and its voting partner Once. Spain's public broadcaster, Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), previously called for a "complete review" of the voting system to "avoid external interference and manipulation", referencing votes received by Israel in the public vote. In his letter, Martin Green said that Eurovision employs specially developed systems designed to prevent fraudulent voting. He said: "The ESC voting system includes multiple security layers and a comprehensive set of rules to ensure that a valid result is generated. Our voting partner - Once Germany GmbH - uses redundant systems and multiple platforms to ensure the correct delivery of votes to the central system. "For the Eurovision Song Contest, specially designed systems are used to monitor and prevent fraud. Additionally, more than 60 individuals in Cologne and several others in Vienna and Amsterdam monitor the voting process in each country and maintain direct contact with telecommunication and broadcasting partners globally. All results are verified through an 8-eye principle by the CEO and senior employees of Once, who collectively have over 40 years of voting experience." Mr Green explained how "independent compliance monitor EY oversees and authenticates the results". He added: "Every decision related to the outcomes is documented and assessed. The entire process, including the result calculation of the platform and the voting results is thoroughly reviewed and verified by EY. "All audience voting, be it SMS, call or online shows evidence of the motivation of communities or diasporas around certain contestants. This can be for many reasons including personal attributes, back stories, geographic affiliations and current affairs. Historically the ESC has been as open to this as other singing and music competitions and reality television. "Every year the Reference Group for the Contest, which contains representatives from and acts on behalf of our Members, studies the data provided by our voting partner Once to make recommendations of any actions available to us to ensure our rules and systems remain fail safe and take into account contemporary external factors such as advances in technology and external influences. This process will happen as it always does in June this year." Mr Green said what the EBU "will be looking at is the promotion of our acts by their delegations and associated parties" and "want to ensure that such promotion is not disproportionally affecting the natural mobilisation of communities and diasporas we see in all entertainment audience voting". Discussing the existing voting system, which allows each person to cast up to 20 votes, he said that the rules would be reviewed. "Another example is the number of votes we allow per person – 20 per payment method. This is designed to ensure that audiences of all ages can vote for more than one of their favourite songs and there is no current evidence that it disproportionally effects (sic) the final result – but the question has been asked and so we will look at it."
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘It is time to ask if the rules allow abuse': broadcasters call for overhaul of Eurovision voting after Israeli near win
Broadcasters across Europe are challenging the Eurovision song contest voting system, after an overwhelming public vote in favour of Israel's entry saw it narrowly miss out on victory in a tense finale on Saturday. The contest was ultimately won by Austria's JJ with Wasted Love. Finland's Yle Entertainment said: 'We will ask the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) whether it is time to update these rules or at least review whether the current rules allow for abuse.' Spain's public broadcaster called for a 'complete review' to avoid 'external interference'. Ireland's RTÉ has requested a breakdown of the numbers, and the Netherlands and Iceland are also among those to have raised issues. Director of the competition, Martin Green, said it is taking the concerns 'seriously'. Israel's song, New Day Will Rise, submitted by the Israeli public service broadcaster Kan, comprehensively won the public part of the vote, after scoring points from 34 of the 38 national and international phone votes. Its performer, Yuval Raphael, was a survivor of the terror assault on the Nova musical festival. The previous Israeli entry finished second in the public vote, earning fifth place in the 2024 contest. Kan had previously been forced to change the lyrics of entry October Rain, which was deemed to directly reference the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack inside Israel. Performer Eden Golan instead sung the retitled Hurricane. Public Spotify and YouTube streaming data shows that Raphael's track lags far behind other competitors in terms of popularity. New Day Will Rise was the 19th most popular song from this year's competition on Spotify in the week of the event, yet scored the maximum douze points from 13 national public votes. Israeli government social media channels have been encouraging people to vote for its representative the maximum 20 times permitted. The Israeli embassy in London posted to social media during the final, encouraging people to vote 20 times for Raphael. The Israeli marketing appears to encourage people to submit multiple votes without even having listened to the song or watched the show. This is not currently against Eurovision's rules. Belgium's broadcaster VRT provided data to community news site which also appeared to show a disparity between numbers of viewers and voters. Their statistics indicated that the number of votes cast from Belgium had increased from 1.3m in 2023, to 2m in 2024 and then 2.2m in 2025. However, the show had only about half as many viewers in 2025 as in 2023, as Belgium did not make the final. Dutch broadcaster AvroTros issued a statement this week saying that it attaches 'great importance to the apolitical and binding value of the Eurovision song contest' but that it is 'increasingly influenced by social and geopolitical pressures'. The results have delighted some quarters. The Jewish Chronicle described the 2025 result as a 'rebuff' to anti-Israeli activists and media pundits, writing that 'Eurovision fans ignored the relentless campaigning against the Jewish state'. Ewan Spence, senior editor at ESC Insight, which reports on Eurovision all year round, told the Guardian that there are potential issues with any future Israeli victory while the Gaza conflict continues. 'If Kan wins the Eurovision song contest under the Israeli flag, it would be expected to host the following year, which would raise significant security challenges. 'If the contest had to be hosted elsewhere in partnership, the reputation of Eurovision inside Israel would be damaged, and the co-host broadcaster taking on that challenge would face reputational PR issues.' German broadcaster ARD would most likely be the first port of call for the EBU approaching someone to co-host alongside Israel, the way the UK co-hosted on behalf of Ukraine in Liverpool in 2023. However, Benjamin Netanyahu's administration, which has been seeking to privatise Kan, would almost certainly apply pressure for the contest to take place in Israel itself. Broadcasters would be under pressure to boycott a contest hosted or co-hosted by Israel while the conflict in Gaza continued. Some in the Eurovision community believe the contest has been affected by changes made by the EBU to accommodate Israel's participation. The volume of the crowd in the arena appears to be mixed lower now, to prevent TV broadcasting boos for Israeli acts or pro-Palestinian slogans, and stricter rules were brought in on fans having flags inside the arena. There was a security incident during Raphael's performance that led to a Eurovision staff member being hit with paint, and on the day of the contest pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed with police in the centre of host city Basel. Spence said: 'If Kan had won Eurovision on Saturday, the song contest would have faced an increased loss of engagement from community media and the wider fanbase.' Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez explicitly called on Israel to be expelled from Eurovision on Monday, directly comparing the situation with that of Russia's exclusion from international events, saying: '[Russia] had to leave international competitions and could not take part … Therefore Israel shouldn't either, because what we cannot allow is double standards in culture.' The EBU has been contacted for comment.
