Pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport has renewed rights for the Giro d’Italia and five other Italian cycling events in a four-year deal, from 2013 to 2016.
Eurosport struck the deal with the IMG Media agency, which has an agreement to distribute rights to races operated by RCS Sport for eight years, from 2013 to 2020.
The rights acquired by Eurosport include the Milan-Sanremo, Il Lombardia, the Tirreno Adriatico, the Strade Bianche and the new Roma Maxima, as well as the Giro.
Under the new agreement, Eurosport has exclusive rights in 59 countries including the UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Poland, and non-exclusive rights in the remaining territories in which the broadcaster operates in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, excluding France.
All races will be available in high definition for the first time, and Eurosport will show three hours of live coverage per stage of the Giro, which is one of the top three road cycling races in the world.
As part of the deal, which includes mobile and internet platforms, Eurosport has sublicensing rights for the races in all European territories where Eurosport is the exclusive broadcaster.