Top cycling races remain on WBD services
October 25, 2024
Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) Sports Europe is extending its rights to show a large number of the world’s greatest cycling races until at least 2030. The move cements its position as the Home of Cycling and guarantees broad access for millions of viewers across Europe.
The new partnership with the EBU and ASO from 2026 features the Tour de France (and Femmes) and La Vuelta a España (and Femenina) to guarantee every Grand Tour will be shown on WBD’s channels and platforms across Europe.
The Tour de France will now be exclusively shown live by WBD in the UK with the Tour de France Femmes now exclusive in Norway and Ireland, alongside coverage for viewers in every market in Europe. Likewise, WBD has added exclusive coverage of La Vuelta a España in Norway and the Netherlands for the men’s and women’s races.
The package of rights in Europe also includes many of the men’s and women’s editions of the Classics such as Paris-Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and La Flèche Wallonne as well as illustrious stage races Paris-Nice, Critérium du Dauphiné and Volta a Catalunya. From 2026, this package of rights will be exclusive in the UK.
WBD will offer live coverage of each race for Eurosport’s channels with uninterrupted streaming available for Max subscribers across Europe. Local commentary will be available in up to 20 languages with stars of the peloton bringing their insights, experience and expertise to races on-site and for Eurosport’s local studio analysis shows in certain markets.
Trojan Paillot, SVP, Sports Rights Acquisitions and Syndication at WBD Sports Europe, said: “For many years, we have been trusted to act as the custodian for cycling and have worked tirelessly to maximise the opportunities fans have to engage with their favourite sport. Our commitment to cycling has seen us invest in the most comprehensive live rights portfolio, which includes every men’s and women’s Grand Tour race, and we’re delighted to now extend our relationship with our partners at ASO and EBU to take us into a fifth decade of covering the world’s greatest races including the Tour de France.”
Scott Young, Group SVP Production, Content and Business Operations at WBD Sports Europe, said: “Our role as the Home of Cycling has seen us harness the most passionate team of cycling experts to consistently elevate our coverage of the sport while telling its stories to the widest possible audience. From being the first broadcaster to offer every minute of the Grand Tours live across Europe in 2018, to developing unique innovations and studio analysis tools to better explain the action, our work in this sport continues to break new ground. Announcing our new rights agreements today means that we can continue to produce quality, immersive content that connects fans with their favourite races and riders for years to come.”
Other posts by :
- France, Germany resists ESA plan for high-res satellites
- Who wants EchoStar’s spectrum?
- AST SpaceMobile confirms Ligado payment
- Bank ups Rocket Lab value
- Eutelsat “racing” to find extra cash
- Starlink causes problems for United Airlines
- Hanwha dumps Eutelsat OneWeb
- Bank: “FCC fires shot across the bows at EchoStar”