Today's adventure brought us to the headquarters of the European sports broadcasting giant, Eurosport. Some might say it is Europe's version of ESPN, but it is a bit more complex than that.
Eurosport serves 54 different countries and broadcasts their games and news in 20 different languages—something ESPN cannot compete with. Their studio was small compared to that of ESPN's multitude of studios, but nonetheless it was something special to learn about.
Today I walked away from Eurosport with a lot of knowledge about the competitiveness in sports television in the eastern hemisphere. Eurosport is very active in purchasing the rights to all types of sporting events across the world. Most recently they purchased the rights to broadcast the Olympics for the next two cycles (2018-2024).
I think the most interesting thing about this small visit was how I felt about the idea of working for a foreign sports broadcasting company. Who knows if they would hire somebody like me? I don't even know if I have the résumé to get in the door, but I know that I would be able to survive it. The fact that english is still their dominant language in headquarters means I wouldn't have to struggle with the everyday translations and language training, but I could still be in a city/country/continent that would be brand new to me.
You can learn a lot about yourself when battling the throes of tourism, but the thought of complete immigration all together would be life-changing.
My options are open, but then again, there is no NFL over here, and that is a deal breaker. So, Eurosport, purchase licensing agreements with the NFL and I'll be packing my bags!