The 2023 Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will be broadcasted live and free exclusively on SBS and SBS on demand with the men’s race starting from 1st July to 23rd July and the women’s race from 23rd July to the 30th July.
From Bilbao to Paris – with 2,115 miles in between – 2023 will be the 120th anniversary of the tour.
Reporting on location and bringing all the twists of both of the events will consist of a team of commentary experts. Matthew Keenan, Simon Gerrans, Dr Bridie O’Donnell, David McKenzie, Gracie Elvin and Christophe Mallet will be providing all the insight, with Mark Renshaw based in Australia to provide audiences with expert insights and post-stage analysis across SBS digital platforms.
This week, Mediaweek spoke with Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme and SBS director of media sales, Adam Sadler about this year’s event and what goes into the broadcast.
MW: There are a lot of major events on the global sporting calendar, how significant is the Tour de France?
Prudhomme: “The Tour is broadcast in 90 countries, and it’s three, four, or five hours a day during the three weeks. It’s sport of course, that’s the most important part, but its history, its geography makes people proud of their region. On a lot of the routes, you see smiles on everybody’s face – young, old, women, men, French, people from abroad. It’s it’s a social event, it’s not only a sporting event.”
Sadler: “It’s more than just a cycling event for SBS. We’ve recently adopted a French chef by the name of Guillaume Brahimi, he’s passionate about France, passionate about Australia, and he infuses that beautiful French culture into our cycling event. When we take this beautiful content out to our advertising agencies or partners, it’s more than just lycra and cycling. It’s about culture.”
MW: What can we expect this year from the Tour de France coverage?
Sadler: “SBS is the home of cycling in Australia, there’s the Giro, the Vuelta, and the jewel in the crown is the Tour de France. Over 3.6 million Australians tune in to the Tour de France. This year we will be broadcasting in 1080p high definition, which you would have seen during the World Cup in 2022. We’ll give it the audience it deserves on our main channel, and also the best on-demand streaming service in Australia – Apple rated SBS On Demand 4.8, the highest rating in Australia.
Prudhomme: “It’s thanks to the TV coverage, this is the only sports event you can love even if you don’t love the sport. That’s thanks to culture, thanks to geography, and to history. Last summer in France, the 15 to 24 year olds were the second largest group of viewers watching the Tour on TV, so there’s something for everyone.”
Read more: “It’s more than just a cycling event”: Behind the Tour de France broadcast
The 2023 Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will be broadcasted live and free exclusively on SBS and SBS on demand with the men’s race starting 1 July to the 23 July and the women’s race from 23 July to the 30 July.