The Tour de France’s future as a free-to-air spectacle in the UK is under threat after Warner Bros Discovery and Eurosport secured exclusive rights to broadcast the world’s most watched annual sporting event.
The Tour was first shown by Channel 4 in the 1980s before moving to ITV in 2001. The broadcaster has delivered comprehensive coverage in recent years helmed by presenter Gary Imlach alongside popular commentators Ned Boulting and David Millar, as the sport’s profile grew with the success of Team Sky, now known as Ineos Grenadiers.
On Friday, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) announced that it had secured a new long-term deal with Tour de France organisers ASO to exclusively show the race from 2026 to 2030. There was no detail on whether highlights are included in the agreement, although WBD has previously put out highlights of its sports content via its free-access channels.
ITV has not commented but The Independent understands that the broadcaster did not engage in a bidding war for the rights.
WBD’s head of sports rights acquisitions hailed the deal, pointing to the company’s own long-standing relationship with the Tour.
“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,” Trojan Paillot said.
“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 [European Broadcasting Union] to take us into a fifth decade of covering the world’s greatest races including the Tour de France.”
This is terrible news. It’s possible to both love Eurosport’s coverage, and acknowledge that the removal of the biggest cycling event of the year from FTA is another nail in the coffin for cycling participation in the UK.
— Tim O’Shea (@timmytweets101) October 25, 2024
But British cycling fans aired their dismay at news which could signal the end of nearly 40 years of free-to-air coverage.
One X user wrote: “Terrible news for UK Cycling as it means people have to pay to watch coverage of the Tour which lets face it, is the way into cycling for a majority of Brits. Money talks but it’s not always right.”
Another commented: “The sport is scratching it’s head going ‘Why can’t we attract funding?’ Well, you need fans/viewers for that. Sticking it behind a paywall is never a good thing for a financially marginal sport trying to grow. Cycling is *not* the winner here.”
Oh, we generally appear to be in agreement that we rather enjoyed the ITV4 coverage too. Putting sports behind a pay wall isn’t the best idea especially in a country such as the UK (where cycling is niche rather than mainstream).
— Mitchel Bennett (@MitchelBennett6) October 25, 2024
Another wrote: “As much as I enjoy Eurosport’s coverage, having free to air on ITV is really important. I think this is a bad thing. I feel for everyone connected with ITV cycling and everything they have built.”