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SBS loses Tour Down under to Nine

Nine has secured the broadcast rights to the Tour Down Under from SBS in a three-year deal to begin from January.

As previously tipped, Nine has secured the broadcast rights to the Tour Down Under from SBS in a three-year deal to begin from January.

Nine will broadcast all six stages of the Santos Tour Down Under to be held in Adelaide from January 15 to 22.

The first four stages will be screened as a daily highlights package as part of Wide World of Sports on Nine with the final two stages broadcast Live.

Andrew Voss will host with commentary from Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.

Steve Crawley, Head of Sport for the Nine Network, said: “Australia has a great history of success in Olympic cycling and in an Olympic year this event will showcase some of the best Australian and international cycling talent leading into London 2012.”

The rights switch was tipped by tweets from SBS staff last week.

“We’ll be on site and do what we’re allowed too. News access videos and some bits and pieces. Not comprehensive though,” SBS TV senior sports producer Stuart Randall tweeted.

Cycling remains a big drawcard for SBS with Cadel Evans’ win in the Tour de France as its top rating event for 2012.

It isn’t the first time Nine has swooped on the rights to a popular SBS show with Top Gear famously switching networks in a deal with the BBC.

36 Responses

  1. Money talks.
    Commentary by Phil & Paul will be fine but wait for commercial breaks before sprints and mountain stages will have to have 10 min drink breaks
    David, do we know if it will be on Nine or Go ?

  2. Nine did a pathetic job with the Rugby World Cup recently – and will continue to do a crap job with the Tour Down Under too.

    And it’s a certainty that the “expert” commentators will have to make room for Eddie Everywhere and Karl “He won the Gold Logie WTF!” Stefanovic.

    And they’ll probably have Shelley Craft covering the fashions on the track too.

    Another sporting event being screwed for the sake of big bucks.

  3. Hopefully if no one watches, Nine will not purchase the rights next time, and TDU can return to SBS. Same with Top Gear, it doesnt rate on Nine anymore, if it ever did, time to give it back.

  4. Given Nine’s low ratings in Adelaide, I think the news won’t be well received there. This will actually encourage locals to go out and see the cycling live instead of watching it on Nine.

  5. It’ll probably be shafted at the last minute and replaced by:
    1) Frozen Planet: The Cold Shoulder
    2) CSI: Corpses ‘R Us
    3) Prime Suspect: Who Goes Where ‘n’ Who Cares
    4) Person of Interest: Who Cares Who Goes Where
    5) Two and a Half Cretins: Yep
    6) The Big Bong Theory: You Got It
    or
    7) The Best of Brian Henderson’s National Nine News

  6. SBS were great but they actually only ever showed 2 stages live of this event. Nine will use the same commentators. Its just a shame that Andrew Voss is involved. He is a terrible broadcaster.

    At least SBS still have the TDF for many years to come.

  7. Yeah taking top gear from sbs was a great get for them. I still remember David Gyngell saying it will be the number 1 show.

    Well at least SBS still have the important one.

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