Tour de France organiser Amaury Sport Organisation has hailed the return of the race to German public-service broadcaster ARD after a two-year rights deal was confirmed today (Wednesday).
ARD has committed to broadcasting the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Tour, with live coverage being offered of each stage. ARD said it planned to provide live coverage of the Tour on a daily basis from around 4.05pm to 5:25pm, taking in the finale of each stage.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said: “Germany is a major country in the world of cycling. Today, German cycling boasts two first-rate teams and a generation of consummate and talented riders, such as Marcel Kittel, André Greipel and Tony Martin. Indeed, these three riders have won 18 stages over the last four editions of Le Tour. Thanks to ARD's channels, I am delighted that the German public will be able to follow the Tour de France on German public TV, unencrypted, daily and live for the next two years.”
ARD last month delayed its decision over whether to return to live coverage of the Tour de France until the New Year. ARD and fellow public-service broadcaster ZDF stopped showing the race live in 2012 after temporarily halting coverage during the 2007 Tour due to doping scandals in the sport.
The impressive performances of Kittel, Martin and Greipel in the 2014 Tour, plus efforts to clean up cycling’s doping problems, appear to have forced a rethink. However, the new contract is said to include a doping clause granting ARD an exit path should further drug scandals arise.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but ARD will reportedly pay about €2.5m ($3.1m) per year to ASO. ARD and ZDF are said to have paid about €20m for the Tour rights between 2009 and 2011.
ARD programme director Volker Herres said: “The latest German successes, especially at the Tour de France, and the new generation of German riders who repeatedly speak out in favour of a doping-free sport have led to a higher attractiveness of this event. Besides the sports content a central point of our coverage will be observing the sport policy context and the anti-doping fight. I'm curious to see how the TV audience will accept the live coverage.”
Pan-regional broadcaster Eurosport, which has provided live coverage of the Tour in Germany during ARD and ZDF’s refusal to do so, is set to continue showing coverage in the country.