Montauban – France – Cycling – Cycling – Cycling – Cycling – Illustrative television televised during Phase 6 of the 2016 Tour de France from Arpajon-sur-Cère to Montauban, 187.00 km – photo UK / PN / Cor Vos © 2016
The television network NBC Sports will close before the end of 2021, leaving a question mark over the way fans will view the network’s biggest cycling property, the Tour de France, and a collection of other major races.
The news first appeared in SportsBusiness Daily early Friday and was later confirmed by an internal memo from Pete Bevacqua, chairman of NBC Sports Group.
NBC Sports currently owns the rights to broadcast the Tour de France in the United States, as well as other races within the portfolio of the Tour de France organizer ASO, including the Vuelta a Espana, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Nice, Liège Bastogne- Liege, and more. It holds these rights until 2023.
NBC Sports also has an agreement with the UCI to broadcast the World Road Championship.
How will Americans see the tour next year?
According to the internal memorandum, which does not specifically mention the Tour, ‘key elements of NBCSN’s programming’ for 2022 will move to the USA Network, owned by NBC, or the company’s streaming service, Peacock. The most important elements include major sports such as the NHL, NASCAR and the Premier League. Smaller events in the NBC portfolio, which include events such as the National Dog Show, will result in their rights being sold or losing coverage. It is unclear in which category cycling falls.
At the moment, even those working within NBC Sports are unclear what the fate is for Tour de France TV coverage in the US. One source indicated that most stages are likely to end up on Peacock, perhaps even on the paid Peacock Premium service, while the most important stages could end up on a traditional TV broadcast via the NBC or US networks.
NBC Sports also owns the US rights to sports such as the English Premier League, which offers a look at how cycling can work in 2022. Premier League matches are available on a mix of NBC TV broadcasts or via Peacock and Peacock Premium, depending on the popularity of the match in question. Liverpool games tend to be free; my beloved and beleaguered Wolverhampton Wanderers are generally behind the pay wall. A similar system, which sees the major touring phases free-to-air-and-free-to-stream and almost everything hidden with Peacock Premium, is a likely scenario.
Much of NBC’s existing cycling portfolio, especially smaller races, has been found in the company’s NBC Sports Gold app. The app gets the ax in favor of Peacock and Peacock Premium.
Of course, there is always the chance that NBC could sell the cycling rights it currently owns before the 2023 contract takes place. How, where and even whether American fans watch the Tour de France can very easily change overnight.