Ahead of this summer's Tour de France, many UK cycling fans were preparing for the prospect of no longer being able to follow the action on TV, after the demise of ITV’s free-to-air coverage last year.
The broadcaster decided not to renew their rights deal for the 2026 race and beyond, leaving Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), parent company of TNT Sports, as the exclusive UK rightsholder for cycling's premier three-week race.
However, for fans unwilling to part with their cash to watch the action, there may now be a glimmer of hope.
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Speaking to a select group of media, including Cyclingnews, WBD's Executive Vice President of Production, Scott Young, all but confirmed that non-paying fans would be able to watch some of the action.
"I think you need to have a free-to-air product [for the Tour de France] and there will be a free-to-air product,” he explained.
"It could entail having a partner that will show parts of the Tour de France to a free audience, but we're just working through how much [of the race], what duration, frequency, we're working through all the elements of that," Young added when quizzed on what a free-to-air product could actually look like for viewers.
WBD already collaborates with free-to-air broadcasters for other major sporting events, such as the Olympics and FA Cup – English football’s main domestic knockout competition – with the BBC, and has held similar arrangements with ITV for rugby union and MotoGP. WBD also has Quest, a free-to-air TV channel within their portfolio that has previously aired cycling highlights.
However, Young would not commit to any further details on which broadcaster TNT Sports may end up teaming up with for the Tour, nor the specifics of any such arrangement, such as whether it would entail live coverage or just highlights packages.
The controversial price hike
ITV's departure from the UK cycling landscape in 2025 was marked as a major blow to the sport, with concerns raised about the impact a reduction in visibility could have on cycling's long-term health at all levels.
It coincided with the closure of Eurosport in the UK, and a subsequent rise in monthly subscription cost – from £6.99 to £30.99 a month, a 343% price hike – as cycling moved over to TNT Sports.
Addressing the criticism directed towards the UK’s now exclusive Tour de France broadcaster, Young said: “There’s lots of different ways to connect to an audience beyond the paywall. Companies like us and Sky invest in sport, and that's why sports like the Premier League have been going since day one behind a paywall. There’s clearly an audience in this market that accepts to pay for sport, and if you pay for your TV licence, you're effectively paying for sport.
“We need to have a relationship with free-to-air broadcasters to do exactly that, for us to continue to have the value coming in through the subscription so we can invest in sport and have a free-to-air partner so that a certain amount of that content is also accessible to people who choose not to subscribe,” he continued.
The broadcaster faced a second wave of criticism shortly after coverage moved to TNT Sports – and the resulting price hike – when its ad-free stream disappeared ahead of last summer’s Tour de France.
In response to this point of contention, Young was clear on WBD’s stance.
“I think as a commercial sports broadcaster, an ad-free product doesn't make a lot of sense.”
That being said, Cyclingnews understands that WBD is working towards a new solution for advertisement breaks during its cycling coverage, and is hopeful of restoring some form of flag-to-finish coverage option for major races in the near future.
As the days count down to this summer's Tour, and TNT Sports' first as sole UK broadcaster, Young is motivated by the responsibility that brings with it.
"I think it's really exciting, because I know we're going to commit to it. I know what we're going to deliver on the Tour de France is going to be extraordinary.
"It will elevate our coverage of cycling."
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