Cycling Australia has announced a two-year partnership with commercial broadcaster Nine and pay-television operator Fox Sports.
Under the deal with cycling’s national governing body in Australia, which runs until the end of 2016, both broadcasters will air road, track and mountain bike events on a live and delayed basis.
Highlights programmes are also included from the Road National, Track National and Mountain Bike National Championships, with the men’s road race to be shown live. Nine and Fox Sports replace public-service broadcaster SBS as Cycling Australia’s rights partners.
“We are now in an unparalleled position to be able to market our sport to many demographics throughout Australia on a regular basis across four major networks within Australia in 2015,” Cycling Australia chief executive Nick Green said, referencing both commercial network Seven’s broadcast of the Cadel Evans’ Great Ocean Road Race in January, and SBS’ continued coverage of international cycling events.
“This will put cycling into the living rooms of millions more Australian homes, and we look forward to engaging with these fans to grow cycling from the grass-roots through to the elite level.”
The Nine and Fox Sports partnership launches with this week’s Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic and moves on to February’s Sun Tour in addition to the 2015 National Road Series – Australia’s premier domestic cycling series.
To complement the broadcast offering, Cycling Australia will integrate highlights packages across its digital platforms.