The Versus TV network has signed a new deal with ASO (the organizers of the Tour de France) that will extend their rights for exclusive U.S. broadcast of the Tour through 2013.
Marketwatch says the investment in cycling is risky because of doping issues and the lack of a major star like the retired 7-time champion Lance Armstrong.
I don’t know if a perceived problem with doping will hurt ratings. Baseball seems to be doing just fine! If anything is going to keep fans from tuning in, it is more likely to be the organizers doing things like not inviting the defending Tour de France champion to the race. If fans feel like they are not seeing the best field possible, they might decide to spend time in the saddle riding their bikes during July instead of sitting on the couch watching the Tour.
In the end, the Tour de France is a great event and interest in cycling in the U.S. seems to be growing as well. Despite the best efforts of the race organizers and the UCI to damage the sport, I’m sure I’ll still tune in.
RSS - Subscribe to the BikeRide Blog
I agree.* I think that the majority of the people who tune in to VS. coverage of the tour during July are those who actually are making a considerable sacrifice, opportunity cost wise. These are people who would a.) most likely rather be out riding (like you said) or b.) have family/social obligations to attend to. It seems like in the past few years VS. has spent a considerable about of time/money making the sport more attractive to new comers. Be this through new on air personalities or long, somewhat drawn out, explanations of the sport, tactics, teams… I feel that what VS. truly misses out on is the high production value that is common across sports on other networks. It seems that VS. is missing their target audience by not providing concise “action packed” programing.
*the following is based on coverage that probably is a bit dated. Lack of cable last year forced me to follow the tour online.
Brian, your point about following the tour online instead of paying for cable was another point I was going to touch on.
For a niche sport like cycling that has such good online coverage (especially for the Tour de France) I find myself questioning whether or not it is worth the extra cost of the premium cable/satelite package just so I can get the Versus network. With live trackers, and tons of online video clips, the online content is about enough for me.
As far as Versus doing more than just showing the action, I think their coverage is pretty good. I think to grow the audience for any sport, the sport needs personalities that people to relate to, so I am not against some more behind the scenes fluff content.