Free TV coverage of the Tour de France could continue in the UK after Warner Bros. Discovery landed the exclusive UK rights to the event – having been the only bidder for them. WBD, which owns Eurosport, is looking at its options including running a highlights package on one of its free TV channels. ITV, meanwhile, is understood to have not made a play for the UK rights with its current deal ending after the 2025 edition of the historic race.
There has been a noisy fallout since the news late last week that Warner Bros. Discovery had snagged exclusive UK rights. The European Broadcasting Union brokers the Tour rights deals on behalf rights owner ASO and cut the WBD deal. Deadline understands that no free-to-air broadcaster went in for the rights.
Cycling has moved into the mainstream in the UK, boosted by a large haul of medals at several Olympic Games and three British Tour de France winners: Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas. The British Ineos team – formerly Team Sky – is one of the best funded in pro cycling and counts the likes of two-time Olympic mountain bike gold medalist Tom Pidcock among its riders.
There has been widespread concern that ITV losing the rights to cycling’s blue ribband event, which takes place every July, will have a huge detrimental impact on the sport in the UK with fans bemoaning the idea that they will need a pay-TV subscription to see the Tour. WBD and Eurosport declined to comment, but Deadline understands it is working through what a free component to its paid-for coverage might look like.
All stages of another of cycling’s Grand Tours, the Giro D’Italia (Tour of Italy), are shown live and in full on Eurosport. Highlights have been carried on Quest, one of WBD’s free TV channels in the UK and which could be the home for free-to-air Tour de France highlights.
Many cycling fans in the UK grew up watching Channel 4’s coverage of the Tour de France. In 2001 it shifted to ITV, which has a popular commentary team and has built a following for its coverage of the biggest of cycling’s three Grand Tours. Its free-to-air broadcasts exist in tandem with the pay TV coverage on Eurosport, which has traditionally been known for year-round coverage of cycling as well as motorsports, tennis and winter sports. It has covered the Tour since 1991.
Asked by Deadline why it had walked away from the cycling rights, ITV said that “it had nothing to add on this one.” The broadcaster has cut new deals for the rights to the matches played by the England men’s and women’s soccer teams, perhaps revealing its priorities.
The new cycling rights deal kicks in from 2026, meaning next summer’s Tour de France will be on both ITV and WBD’s Eurosport, but it will be the final lap of France for the UK broadcaster.