Eurosport’s enhanced Tour de France 2015 coverage resonates with fans across Europe
Eurosport’s coverage of the 2015 Tour de France has delivered audience rises in several markets across Europe as cycling enthusiasts tune in to watch the exciting first days of the Tour in the Netherlands, Belgium and France which have seen strong winds, storms, high speed crashes and a different rider donning the yellow jersey for each stage.
Eurosport, the #Homeofcycling, reached 21.6m different European viewers* during the opening four days of the 2015 Tour (4-7 July), a 15% rise versus the 2014 Tour. Live average audiences have increased in Italy (+97%), France (+22%) and Poland (+21%), but also in Romania (+21%) and Germany (+10%).
Cycling fans have tuned in to Eurosport to see the channel’s best ever live, bespoke coverage of the race. For the first time, Eurosport has access to all cameras from ASO (the organiser of the Tour), including the helicopter camera, which allows Eurosport to customise the international feed with its own signal and choose which views and angles are shown to fans.
At the end of each stage Eurosport, for the first time, also has its own super slow motion camera on the finish line to capture stunning shots of the arrival and help identify the winner, even in the tightest of sprint stages.
In addition to the live enhancements, Eurosport is able to offer improved highlights and magazine programmes with access to footage from on-board cameras. Although this on-bike footage is not available live this year, it is used in Eurosport’s Tour de France Today highlights evening show. The on-board cameras take fans into the heart of the peloton and allow them to experience the length and gradient of the most famous climbs, the lightning fast descents and the chaos of a bunch sprint.
To preview the stages, Eurosport uses 3D race graphics for the first time in Greg LeMond’s LeMond on Tour with a special focus on the standout climbs. This illustrates not just the gradients, but the changes of direction and the switchbacks which are so characteristic of the iconic mountains. In addition, each rider is equipped with a GPS chip so Eurosport commentators can track the riders live and know where they are in real-time.
As a final ‘first’ for this year’s Tour de France coverage, fans can enjoy seven additional live feeds on the Eurosport Player, the channel’s online simulcast, allowing viewers to watch the whole race uninterrupted, switch between five on-board motorbike cameras and access the finish line camera.
These new improvements complete Eurosport’s in-depth coverage of the Tour, which includes live action from all stages; a daily on-site live show LeMond on Tour broadcast immediately before and after each stage, with analysis from three time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond; rider interviews led by former Team Sky rider Juan Antonio Flecha; and Tour de France Today, a one-hour highlights programme at 22:00 CET.