BCE brings live coverage of Tour de Luxembourg to cycling fans

In September, Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), host broadcaster for the Tour de Luxembourg 2023, played a pivotal role in producing and transmitting live coverage of the tour, as well as providing live streaming services.

By leveraging BCE’s mutualised playout services, cycling enthusiasts worldwide had the chance to experience the race in real-time. The Tour de Luxembourg was broadcast live over IP from BCE’s broadcasting centre and made available on local channels and international sports networks, such as RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg, Eurosport and L’Équipe. Additionally, cycling fans had the opportunity to enjoy the high-definition (HD) live streaming of the Tour on RTL.lu.

One of the standout moments of this year’s Tour was Stage 3, which took place in the town of Vianden, finishing at the historic Vianden Castle. This stage presented a unique technical challenge, as the ancient castle lacked connectivity, making communications difficult.

To overcome these challenges, BCE ensured the cabling of the entire castle to connect all the cameras as well as deploying high antennas to receive transmissions from a circling plane. Feeds from motorbike teams and helicopters were relayed to the plane and then sent from the plane to the antenna.

BCE meticulously managed the live programme production from its outside broadcast van and subsequently transmitted it via satellite news gathering to the playout centre for distribution across Eurosport, L’Équipe, and RTL Luxembourg. Additionally, the event organisers had to contend with limited space within the castle premises to welcome finishing cyclists and ensure a smooth transition between arriving and departing cyclists.