Glen Killane has been promoted to director of Eurovision Sport ©EBU

Glen Killane has been promoted to the role of executive director of Eurovision Sport, having previously served as the deputy director at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

He replaces Stefan Kürten in the position who announced in December that he would leave the EBU in June of this year.

In his role as deputy director of Eurovision Sports, Killane oversaw numerous broadcasting rights agreements in recent months including with FIFA for the rights to the FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA for radio rights of the Euro 2020 Football Championships and the Women's European Championships 2021.

Other partners include Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) which runs the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, European Gymnastics, the International Biathlon Union and the Austrian Ski Association.

Prior to his time at EBU, Killane was the managing director of Eir Sport and Eir TV in Ireland as well as the managing director of RTE Television from 2010 to 2016 and within that period he was elected chair of the EBU Television Committee.

Noel Curran, director general of EBU was glad to see the promotion of Killane.

"Glen has a proven track record in sports broadcasting in the public and private sectors," Curran said.

"He understands the digital requirements of Sports Federations in the modern age and remains totally committed to the values of our public service members.

"I'm looking forward to working with him and all the team to ensure public service media continues to broadcast the best sporting events free-to-all.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Stefan Kürten for his enormous and successful contribution to the EBU and Eurovision Sport over so many years.”

Killane also expressed his gratitude for his appointment saying, "It is a privilege to be appointed to this position by the EBU and our members.

"It’s at times like this that we truly appreciate the value of public service media and I look forward to working with my colleagues and our members as we recover from this pandemic. 

“I'm also looking forward to working with our partner federations across Europe to overcome the present challenges facing us all and am excited for the day when we can bring great sporting action back to the screens and radio channels of public service broadcasters throughout the continent.”

Departing director of Eurovision Sport Kürten leaves the company after 20 years of service.