by One of the summer’s most popular British sports broadcasting traditions will come to an end in 2026 after it was announced that the Tour de France will no longer be shown on ITV after next year, following Warner Bros. Discovery and Eurosport’s announcement that it has a new exclusive rights deal for the biggest Cycling race completed.
The rights deal, which Warner Bros. Discovery says runs until at least 2030, means the Tour de France will no longer be shown on free-to-air television in the UK for the first time since the 1980s, when Channel 4 began broadcasting its now legendary evening highlights programs.
On Friday morning, Warner Bros. Discovery – which shut down the GCN+ cycling streaming app last year after moving its live cycling content to its Discovery+ platform – announced it had entered into a new long-term agreement with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). and the Tour de France organizers The Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) has secured exclusive rights for the Tour from 2026 to 2030.
Under the agreement, the Tour de France will now be broadcast live exclusively on Eurosport and Discovery+ in the UK. This ends ITV4’s coverage, currently hosted by Gary Imlach, Ned Boulting and David Millar, and extends the relationship between Eurosport and the broadcaster racing beyond the 40-year mark.
In 2025, ITV will broadcast its 25th edition of the Tour de France, having acquired the UK television rights from Channel 4 in 2001.
When contacted for comment by road.cc, a spokesman for the broadcaster said ITV had “nothing to add on this point”.
> The rise and fall of GCN+ – is the livestream party for cycling fans over?
Warners Bros. Discovery also announced that Tour de France Femmes will now air exclusively in Ireland and Norway, as well as being available to viewers in all European markets.
The “colossal” deal also means Eurosport and Discovery+ will continue to broadcast most of the rest of the cycling calendar, including the Grand Tours and Classics, live and on-demand linear, streaming and digital, which the broadcaster “guarantees”. broad access to millions of viewers across Europe”.
(ASO/Charly Lopez)
Announcing the deal, Trojan Paillot, head of sports rights acquisition and syndication at WBD Sports Europe, said: “For many years we have been entrusted with the role of stewards of cycling and have worked tirelessly to maximize the opportunities for fans to engage. “ her favorite sport.
“Our commitment to cycling has led us to invest in the most comprehensive live rights portfolio, covering all men’s and women’s Grand Tour races, and we are pleased to continue our relationship with our partners at ASO and EBU now expanding into a fifth decade of coverage of the world’s biggest races, including the Tour de France.”
“Our role as the home of cycling has allowed us to assemble the most passionate team of cycling experts to continually improve our coverage of the sport while telling its stories to the widest possible audience,” added Scott Young, head of content for WBD Sports Europe, added.
“From being the first broadcaster to broadcast 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 the sport continues to break new ground Ways.”
“Today’s announcement of our new rights agreements means we can continue to produce high-quality, immersive content that will continue to connect fans with their favorite races and drivers for years to come.”
In November last year, Warner Bros. Discovery shut down the popular GCN+ app, which had provided live and on-demand streaming of the cycling calendar since 2021, as part of its effort to consolidate its live cycling production (for which it owned the rights). on its own Discovery+ platform.
Discovery, which merged with Warner Brothers in 2022, initially bought a 20 percent stake in GCN’s parent company Play Sports Group in 2017 before taking full ownership in 2021 to “solidify” its position as the “home of cycling.”
In June, the company sold GCN back to its founder and CEO Simon Wear, resulting in the collapse of GCN’s website and the loss of several jobs.
:focal(1506x447:1508x445)/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2024/10/24/image-447eace0-62ee-425b-b4e3-9fa726e2dc37-85-2560-1440.jpeg?w=445&resize=445,265&ssl=1 "After a colossal rights deal, the Tour de France will air exclusively on Warner Bros. Discovery in the UK from 2026")
