Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Tour de France
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Broadcasting== The Tour was first followed only by journalists from ''L'Auto'', the organisers. The race was founded to increase sales of a floundering newspaper and its editor, Desgrange, saw no reason to allow rival publications to profit. The first time papers other than ''L'Auto'' were allowed was 1921, when 15 press cars were allowed for regional and foreign reporters.{{sfn|Augendre|1996|p=21}} The Tour was shown first on cinema newsreels a day or more after the event. The first live radio broadcast was in 1929, when Jean Antoine and Alex Virot of the newspaper ''L'Intransigeant'' broadcast for Radio Cité. They used telephone lines. In 1932 they broadcast the sound of riders crossing the col d'Aubisque in the Pyrenees on 12 July, using a recording machine and transmitting the sound later. The first television pictures were shown a day after a stage. The national TV channel used two 16mm cameras, a Jeep, and a motorbike. Film was flown or taken by train to Paris, where it was edited and then shown the following day. The first live broadcast, and the second of any sport in France, was the finish at the [[Parc des Princes]] in Paris on 25 July 1948.{{sfn|Dauncey|Hare|2013|p=134}} [[Rik Van Steenbergen]] of Belgium led in the bunch after a stage of {{convert|340|km}} from [[Nancy, France|Nancy]]. The first live coverage from the side of the road was from the Aubisque on 8 July 1958. Proposals to cover the whole race were abandoned in 1962 after objections from regional newspapers whose editors feared the competition.{{sfn|Dauncey|Hare|2013|p=136}} The dispute was settled, but not in time for the race, and the first complete coverage was the following year in 1963. In 1958 the first mountain climbs were broadcast live on television for the first time,{{sfn|Thompson|2008|p=283}} and in 1959 helicopters were first used for the television coverage.{{sfn|Thompson|2008|p=137}} The leading television commentator in France was a former rider, [[Robert Chapatte]]. At first he was the only commentator. He was joined in following seasons by an analyst for the mountain stages and by a commentator following the competitors by motorcycle. Broadcasting in France was largely a state monopoly until 1982, when the [[Socialist Party (France)|socialist]] president [[François Mitterrand]] allowed private broadcasters and privatised the leading television channel. Competition between channels raised the broadcasting fees paid to the organisers from 1.5 per cent of the race budget in 1960 to more than a third by the end of the century.{{sfn|Dauncey|Hare|2013|p=117}} Broadcasting time also increased as channels competed to secure the rights. The two largest channels to stay in public ownership, [[Antenne 2]] and [[FR3]], combined to offer more coverage than its private rival, [[TF1]]. The two stations, renamed France 2 and France 3, still hold the domestic rights and provide pictures for broadcasters around the world. The stations use a staff of 300 with four helicopters, two aircraft, two motorcycles, 35 other vehicles including trucks, and 20 podium cameras.<ref group="n">A podium camera is not one focused on the winner's podium but a full-scale camera on a mount, or podium.</ref> French aviation company Hélicoptères de France (HdF) has provided aerial filming services for the Tour since 1999. HdF operates [[Eurocopter]] [[Eurocopter AS355 Écureuil 2|AS355 Écureuil 2]] and [[Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil|AS350 Écureuil]] helicopters for this purpose, and the pilots undergo training along the course for six months before the race.<ref name="ars-tegler">{{cite web |last1=Tegler |first1=Eric |title=The helicopter team that films the Tour de France is one of a kind |url=https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/07/how-helicopters-bring-us-amazing-views-of-the-tour-de-france/ |publisher=Ars Technica |access-date=17 July 2019 |date=11 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="hdf-news">{{cite web |title=News |url=http://hdf.fr/en/actualites |work=Hélicoptères de France |access-date=17 July 2019 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717024835/http://hdf.fr/en/actualites |url-status=dead }}</ref> Domestic television covers the most important stages of the Tour, such as those in the mountains, from mid-morning until early evening. Coverage typically starts with a survey of the day's route, interviews along the road, discussions of the difficulties and tactics ahead, and a 30-minute archive feature. The biggest stages are shown live from start to end, followed by interviews with riders and others and features such an edited version of the stage seen from beside a team manager following and advising riders from his car. Radio covers the race in updates throughout the day, particularly on the national news channel, [[France Info]], and some stations provide continuous commentary on long wave. The 1979 Tour was the first to be broadcast in the United States.{{sfn|Thompson|2008|p=48}} In the United Kingdom, [[ITV Sport|ITV]] obtained the [[Sports broadcasting contracts in the United Kingdom|rights]] to the Tour de France in 2002, replacing [[Channel 4]] as the UK terrestrial broadcaster. Channel 4 coverage had been broadcast for the previous 15 years<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/19257/channel-4-and-the-tour-de-france |title=CHANNEL 4 AND THE TOUR DE FRANCE |website=UK Parliament Early Day Motions |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> with episodes introduced with a theme written by [[Pete Shelley]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Murray |first1=Scott |title=The Joy of Six: sporting theme tunes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/oct/28/joy-of-six-sport-theme-tunes-bbc |access-date=6 December 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=28 October 2011}}</ref> The coverage is shown on [[ITV4]], having aired in previous years on [[ITV2]] and [[ITV3]]. Initially, live coverage was only broadcast at the weekend but since the 2010 Tour de France, [[ITV4]] has broadcast daily live coverage of every stage except the final which is shown on [[ITV1]], ITV4 have the nightly highlights show. It was reported in January 2025 that the 2025 Tour de France would be the last to be broadcast on ITV, and the last to be broadcast live on [[free-to-air]] television in the UK, with [[Warner Bros. Discovery]] (WBD)'s [[pay television]] channel group [[TNT Sports (United Kingdom)|TNT Sports]] having acquired the Tour's UK broadcasting rights from 2026 onwards.<ref name="cyclingweekly2025"/> As part of the change, the highlights show would move to WBD's free-to-air channel [[Quest (British TV channel)|Quest]].<ref name="cyclingweekly2025">{{Cite news |last=Davidson |first=Tom |date=2025-01-28 |title=No free-to-air live coverage of Tour de France in UK from 2026, broadcaster confirms |url=https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/no-free-to-air-live-coverage-of-tour-de-france-in-uk-from-2026-broadcaster-confirms |access-date=2025-04-04 |work=[[Cycling Weekly]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> In the United States, the Tour de France has been [[Cycling on NBC|broadcast]] by the [[NBC Sports Group]] since 1999, under a contract most recently renewed in 2023 to last through 2029. Currently, all stages stream exclusively on its streaming platform [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]], with selected stages simulcast on the [[NBC]] broadcast network.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lucia |first=Joe |date=2023-02-15 |title=NBC Sports renews with Tour de France through 2029, with all stages exclusively airing on Peacock in 2024 |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/nbc-sports-renews-with-tour-de-france-through-2029-with-all-stages-exclusively-airing-on-peacock-in-2024.html |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}}</ref> The rights were first acquired by [[NBCSN|Outdoor Life Network]] (OLN) in 1999; buoyed by Lance Armstrong's performance in the race, OLN considered the Tour to be its flagship program,<ref name="sbd-oln-tdf">{{Cite web |last=Bernstien |first=Andy |title=No word could describe the Tour de France, so OLN made one up |url=http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2004/05/20040531/Media/No-Word-Could-Describe-The-Tour-De-France-So-OLN-Made-One-Up.aspx?hl=YES%20Network&sc=0 |access-date=2 January 2012 |publisher=Sports Business Journal}}</ref> and its coverage helped expand the then-fledging cable channel to over 60 million households. However, critics raised concerns over the extensive focus OLN placed on Armstrong during its coverage, with some jokingly stating that "OLN" stood for "Only Lance Network". The Tour would remain part of its programming through OLN's relaunch as mainstream sports channel Versus, and became integrated with NBC Sports after Versus parent company [[Comcast]] acquired [[NBC Universal]] (rebranding Versus as the NBC Sports Network afterward),<ref name="nyt-sizingup">{{Cite news |last=Sandomir |first=Richard |date=7 July 2006 |title=OLN Sizing Up Impact of the Post-Lance Era |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/07/sports/othersports/07sandomir.html |access-date=7 May 2012 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="oln-nhl-nyt">{{Cite news |last=Sandomir |first=Richard |date=28 July 2005 |title=With Armstrong Out, N.H.L. May Be in at OLN |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/sports/hockey/28sandomir.html |access-date=2 January 2012 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Live from Tour de France: NBC Sports Network tells story of Stage 7 to Nuits-Saint-Georges |url=https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/live-from-tour-de-france-nbc-sports-network-tells-story-of-stage-7-to-nuits-saint-georges/ |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=SVG Europe |language=en}}</ref><ref name="mp-csnnbcrebrand2">{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Wayne |date=9 May 2011 |title=NBC Steps Up Branding For Comcast Sports Nets |url=http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=150158 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511223213/http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=150158 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |access-date=10 May 2011 |work=MediaPost}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=John Ourand |title=SBJ: Exit Versus, enter the NBC Sports Network |url=http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2011-08-01/sbj-exit-versus-enter-the-nbc-sports-network |access-date=2 August 2011 |publisher=The Sporting News |archive-date=28 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928092911/http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2011-08-01/sbj-exit-versus-enter-the-nbc-sports-network |url-status=dead }}</ref> The combination of unprecedented rigorous doping controls and almost no positive tests helped restore fans' confidence in the 2009 Tour de France. This led directly to an increase in global popularity of the event. The most watched stage of 2009 was stage 20, from Montélimar to Mont Ventoux in Provence, with a global total audience of 44 million, making it the 12th most watched sporting event in the world in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://initiative.com/sites/default/files/ViewerTrack_2010.pdf |title=ViewerTrack, The most watched TV sporting events of 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017063843/http://initiative.com/sites/default/files/ViewerTrack_2010.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2011 }}</ref>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Tour de France
(section)
Add topic