NBC Sports, Peacock secure US media rights for the Tour de France on six-year extension

This article originally appeared on Velo News

NBC Sports and Peacock will retain the exclusive U.S. broadcast rights for the Tour de France on a six-year extension, officials confirmed Wednesday.

As part of its previous agreement, NBC Sports and Peacock will present full live coverage of 110th Tour de France this summer July 1-23, 2023.

The extension means NBC Sports will continue as the U.S. home of Tour de France through 2029.

Beginning in 2024, all stages will be presented live start to finish exclusively on Peacock, with select stages simulcast on NBC.

"We're excited to reach this long-term agreement with A.S.O. to present the world's most prestigious cycling event live on Peacock for years to come," said Jon Miller, President, Acquisitions and Partnerships, NBC Sports.

"With the Tour de France and our extensive cycling portfolio, we are proud to continue as the home of cycling in the United States, while continuing to bolster Peacock's best-in-class slate of live sports programming."

The financials were not revealed, but the deal with Tour owners Amaury Sports Organisation confirms NBC’s long commitment to the Tour de France that dates back to 2001.

Despite some rumors that the U.S. media rights might be heading elsewhere, officials said the Tour remains very much part of NBC’s cycling offering.

Beginning with the 111th Tour in June 2024, Peacock will become the exclusive home of the Tour de France in the United States through 2029 with live start-to-finish coverage of every stage, officials said.

Select stages will also simulcast live on NBC throughout the three-week event.

Daily coverage on Peacock will include NBC Sports-produced pre- and post-race studio shows, full-stage replays, highlights, stage recaps, rider interviews, and more.

The Tour rights are part of a larger deal between NBC and ASO, the owners of the Tour de France and other cycling properties.

As part of the agreement, NBC Sports will present several more ASO events throughout the year, including the Vuelta a Espana, La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Criterium du Dauphine, and Paris Tours.

Also included are the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris, the world's second-largest marathon, and the Dakar rally, the world's most challenging off-road endurance race.

ASO officials were happy to retain NBC and Peacock for the U.S. market.

“We are delighted to be able to extend our long-term partnership with the NBCU group, which promotes the Tour de France and all the major ASO sporting events to the American public on a cross-platform basis, including women’s cycling such as the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift that NBC Sports has supported since the first edition in July 2022,” said ASO CEO Yann Le Moenner.

“The combined coverage via Peacock, which will show the entire races from the beginning to the end, and network television, will ensure that everyone has access to the best of world cycling.”

The deal ends months of speculation of which broadcast company would secure the Tour de France rights for the future. The popularity of streaming services such as GCN+ and FloBikes brought renewed competition to the marketplace for airing bike races.

These two services snapped up the U.S. rights for other major European races, such as the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Flanders, and other events.

NBC's move away from its previous sports streaming service--called NBC Sports Gold--sparked intrigue to whether the U.S. broadcast giant would abandon the Tour de France rights after its deal ran out.

But Wednesday's news is confirmation that NBC is firmly committed to the event--and the sport--going forward.

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