Biathlon (not to be confused with duathlon) is a term used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines. Biathlon, however, usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Another popular variant is summer biathlon, which combines cross-country running with riflery.

Unsurprisingly, biathlon events are broadcast most regularly where the sport enjoys its greatest popularity, namely Germany (ARD, ZDF), Norway (NRK), Finland (YLE), Sweden (SVT), Russia (RTR), Belarus (TVR), Slovenia (RTV), Estonia (ETV), and Bulgaria (BNT); it is also broadcast on European-wide Eurosport. Some events are broadcast on U.S. cable channel OLN.

The broadcast distribution being one indicator, the constellation of a sport's main sponsors usually gives a similar, and correlated, indication of popularity: for biathlon, these are the Germany-based companies E.ON Ruhrgas (energy), Krombacher (beer), and Viessmann (boilers and other heating systems).