EUROSPORT ANNOUNCES EXTENSION FOR GRAND TOUR EVENTS

Eurosport has cemented its position as the ‘Home of Cycling’ giving fans the chance to watch every minute of every stage of the Tour de France until at least 2025 following a new agreement with the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Eurovision Sport.

The two-year extension sees Eurosport retain exclusivity to show cycling’s flagship event in full across 38 markets* in Europe.

The announcement comes on the back of strong engagement figures during the 2019 Tour de France where Eurosport secured a (+95% versus 2018) rise in minutes watched via its digital channels throughout July and the Tour de France and a (+4% versus 2018) uplift in linear viewers on Eurosport 1 during the Tour, including best ever viewing figures in France (+43% versus 2018), as passionate cycling fans took advantage of its all-screens approach.

Eurosport has also extended its agreement to screen La Vuelta for a further five years until 2025. From 2021, Eurosport will screen every minute live and on-demand to fans across Europe including exclusivity in 50 markets**. As part of the arrangement, Eurosport will have the ability to customise the feeds of all stages while posting key moments on its social media channels to provide unique digital experiences for cycling fans in Europe and beyond. The 2020 and 75th edition begins in the Dutch city of Utrecht, becoming the first location to host stages of all three Grand Tours.

From 2021, Eurosport’s sister platform, Global Cycling Network (GCN), will stream every Grand Tour powered by Eurosport through its new app as part of an ultimate cycling ecosystem which immerses cycling fans and riders, delivering on Discovery’s objective of super-serving passionate communities in the way they want each and every day.

Alongside this, Eurosport has secured the rights to show additional flagship women’s races with the Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Flèche Wallonne events produced and broadcast live for the first time from 2020, providing more opportunities for Eurosport to champion the growth of the sport for all to enjoy.

Andrew Georgiou, President, Eurosport and Global Sports Rights & Sports Marketing Solutions, said: “Passionate sports fans are at the heart of everything we do, so we’re pleased to be providing the most extensive live and on-demand coverage of the world’s biggest cycling events in the Tour de France and La Vuelta until at least 2025.

“Our world-class digital and production set-up enables us to bring fans to the heart of the action, while offering multiple ways to consume, interact and engage with the best quality premium cycling content in the way fans chose on any screen, anytime, anywhere. We are constantly innovating – such as introducing Bradley Wiggins reporting live from a bike in the heart of the peloton last year – which makes us the go-to destination for cycling fans and we can’t wait to bring the action back to screens this year.

Georgiou added: “We’re particularly excited to be showcasing the very best in female cycling talent to a pan-European audience through our deal with the ASO and Eurovision Sport and are confident we will support the continued growth of the sport across the continent, encouraging more people than ever to get involved.”

After acquiring a majority stake in market-leading cycling community broadcaster Play Sports Group, parent company of Global Cycling Network (GCN), in January 2019, Discovery has leveraged its global scale to create the world’s number one cycling media ecosystem with globally recognised expert talent contributing to the localisation of content for different European markets. Discovery’s direct-to-consumer strategy includes the screening of all three Grand Tours, most of the World Tour calendar and more than 100 cycling events from all disciplines.

In addition to its TV coverage, Eurosport continues to provide extensive digital coverage via the Eurosport Player, the live streaming and on-demand platform, which allows users to select up to seven additional camera streams at the Tour de France. Europe’s No 1 online sports news website – Eurosport.com – complements its broadcast offering with extensive coverage of cycling to the widest online community of fans.

Notes to Editors
*Fully exclusive markets (38): Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.                                             

France is not included in this agreement and will be discussed separately.

**Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan