The 2012 ISU European Figure Skating Championships take place in Sheffield from 23 to 29 January at the 9,000 seat Motorpoint Arena.

Eurosport and the BBC are among the broadcasters with the rights to the event (see http://www.europeans2012.co.uk/news/32).

According to iSKATE magazine, the BBC’s coverage for all four disciplines will be available through the BBC’s red button service, with a highlights show on BBC2 from 13:00 to 14:30 on 29 January.

Coverage on Eurosport UK only begins on 26 January, at 9pm, with an hour-long programme. There is more extensive coverage on continental Eurosport. Eurosport UK has live coverage of the gala on 29 January from 14:45.

iSKATE has details of the TV coverage of the European championships at http://www.facebook.com/iskatemagazine.

NISA has full details of the BBC’s red button coverage  at http://www.iceskating.org.uk/node/5165.

The scheduling on both channels pretty much pushes the European championships into obscurity as far as the UK public is concerned. NISA’s details of coverage reveals that the short programmes are not going to be televised at all. Plus red button coverage on the BBC via Freeview can be limited if more than one sporting event is on; Sky subscribers get a broader selection of sports viewing options but can’t record interactive services directly on a Sky box. Eurosport UK’s coverage seems limited to highlights of the free programmes, but will have commentary from skating veterans Chris Howarth and Nicky Slater, as opposed to the BBC’s Robin Cousins and former tennis player Sue Barker.

Details about obtaining tickets for the event are at: http://europeans2012.co.uk/tickets

The schedule of events is at: http://europeans2012.co.uk/schedule

The official website is at: http://europeans2012.co.uk/