The European Broadcasting Union has confirmed today that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will be available to watch for free in the United States.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will be available to watch for free for the first time in recent years after a deal has been agreed with YouTube. Jurian Van Der Meer, commercial director of the European Broadcasting Union, confirmed at StreamTV Europe in Lisbon that YouTube will air all three live shows alongside NBC’s Peacock service.
The Eurovision Song Contest was previously broadcast in the United States on Logo TV. Logo’s first broadcast of Eurovision in 2016 was hosted by Carson Kressley (known for presenting shows including “How to Look Good Naked”) and Michelle Collins of “The View.” 52,000 viewers in the USA watched the show that year.
In 2017, commentating duties were taken over by “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” stars Ross Mathews and Michelle Visage. The American broadcast of the Eurovision 2017 final attracted 64,000 viewers. 74,000 viewers watched the live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 Grand Final from Lisbon, Portugal, with the contest having a share of 0.02%.
In 2019, Netflix signed a deal with the EBU to broadcast the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest was not available to watch live and was only available on-demand after the contest was held. The Eurovision Song Contest has been streamed on Peacock since 2021, when NBC signed an agreement with the EBU for the creation of the American Song Contest.
You can find out more about the United States’ Eurovision history below:
Source: The Hollywood Reporter