Free TV protection of the Tour de France may proceed within the UK after Warner Bros. Discovery landed the unique UK rights to the occasion – having been the one bidder for them. WBD, which owns Eurosport, is its choices together with working a highlights package deal on considered one of its free TV channels. ITV, in the meantime, is known to haven’t made a play for the UK rights with its present deal ending after the 2025 version of the historic race.
There was a loud fallout for the reason that information late final week that Warner Bros. Discovery had snagged unique UK rights. The European Broadcasting Union brokers the Tour rights offers on behalf rights proprietor ASO and lower the WBD deal. Deadline understands that no free-to-air broadcaster went in for the rights.
Biking has moved into the mainstream within the UK, boosted by a big haul of medals at a number of Olympic Video games and three British Tour de France winners: Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas. The British Ineos crew – previously Staff Sky – is without doubt one of the greatest funded in professional biking and counts the likes of two-time Olympic mountain bike gold medalist Tom Pidcock amongst its riders.
There was widespread concern that ITV dropping the rights to biking’s blue ribband occasion, which takes place each July, may have an enormous detrimental influence on the game within the UK with followers bemoaning the concept they’ll want a pay-TV subscription to see the Tour. WBD and Eurosport declined to remark, however Deadline understands it’s working by way of what a free element to its paid-for protection may seem like.
All levels of one other of biking’s Grand Excursions, the Giro D’Italia (Tour of Italy), are proven dwell and in full on Eurosport. Highlights have been carried on Quest, considered one of WBD’s free TV channels within the UK and which could possibly be the house for free-to-air Tour de France highlights.
Many biking followers within the UK grew up watching Channel 4’s protection of the Tour de France. In 2001 it shifted to ITV, which has a preferred commentary crew and has constructed a following for its protection of the most important of biking’s three Grand Excursions. Its free-to-air broadcasts exist in tandem with the pay TV protection on Eurosport, which has historically been recognized for year-round protection of biking in addition to motorsports, tennis and winter sports activities. It has coated the Tour since 1991.
Requested by Deadline why it had walked away from the biking rights, ITV stated that “it had nothing so as to add on this one.” The broadcaster has lower new offers for the rights to the matches performed by the England males’s and ladies’s soccer groups, maybe revealing its priorities.
The brand new biking rights deal kicks in from 2026, which means subsequent summer time’s Tour de France might be on each ITV and WBD’s Eurosport, however it is going to be the ultimate lap of France for the UK broadcaster.
