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SBS renews Tour de France in 10 year deal

SBS has signed Tour de France -and a raft of other sports events- until 2023.

2013-07-19_1133SBS has secured the exclusive broadcast rights to the Tour de France until 2023 in a landmark deal.

The deal announced today in Le Bourg d’Oisans, France before the start of Stage 19 of the Tour de France, means no other broadcaster can screen Tour de France in Australia for the next 10 years.

Under the agreement SBS has the exclusive Australian rights to:
• Live coverage of every stage;
• Highlights;
• Pay TV rights;
• Extensive online and mobile rights.

The deal with with Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) also includes the TV rights to the Vuelta, Paris-Roubaix, Liege Bastogne Liege, Fleche Wallonne, Criterium du Dauphine, Paris-Nice, Paris-Tours as well as the Dakar Rally and the Paris Marathon.

SBS Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Michael Ebeid said: “SBS has built its expertise in cycling over the past two decades and we are now the premiere home of cycling in Australia. The Tour is at the heart of SBS and this agreement is wonderful news for Australian audiences who will be able to watch it on free-to-air television as well as all of our new media platforms for the next 10 years.

“SBS has been with cycling since its beginning because we believe in giving exposure to sports which unite communities. Today, cycling is one of the most popular participation sports in the country and this agreement ensures it is accessible to all Australians in the future.”

Ken Shipp, Head of Sport SBS said: “This new broadcast deal reflects the mutual respect between SBS and A.S.O. built over the last 20 years. The Tour de France is a signature event for SBS which our viewers look forward to every year. With the certainty of a 10 year agreement we can invest further in cycling to make our coverage even better for cycling fans.”

SBS is currently screening the 100th Tour de France.

11 Responses

  1. Hopefully they will show more of the big mountain stages. Filling with Gabriel Gate and stuff till 10:30pm is fine for most stages but they missed all the action in the key second Pyrenes stage.

    With two channels there is no excuse not to show the Tour De France live when the English language coverage has already started when they have exclusive rights. Nine has demonstrated with the Ashes what sport can do in primetime on weekends.

    Last night they start the mountain stage at 9:30pm, hopefully that is a sign of things to come.

    Las

  2. Smart move by SBS, would’ve been very unhappy if one of the commercial network’s had pinched it. Impressive that they’ve picked it up for the next ten years – a deal for that length of time is pretty much unheard of these days.

    I’d dance in my chair but I’d spill my drink.

  3. That’s great news! I don’t watch much sport, but I understand the revenue benefits when SBS gets big ticket sporting events so I can keep watching their films, docos & comedies.

    I’m sure they’ll get The Tour Down Under again once Nine have lost interest. Unless they already have?

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