Tour de France organiser A.S.O has confirmed extensive (and expanded) TV coverage for this year’s event, with France Télévisions set to produce and broadcast all the stages from start to finish, for a total of 105 hours of live footage that will be used by 100 channels in 190 different countries.
The Tour de France is bringing a new channel on board for this year’s race. DSport, which serves almost 110 million Indian homes, will broadcast each stage live in dedicated 90 minute segments to capture the race action. The TdF has also extended its broadcasting contracts with beIN Sports in the Middle East, Caracol TV in Colombia, ESPN in Latin America and CCTV in China.
As on show at Paris–Roubaix, slow-motion footage from a race motorbike will be broadcast live. The 2018 TdF will also feature ‘more real-time data… elevation gain, current speed, share of time pulling at the front, virtual general classification, etc.’
A 3D race visualization will show the real-time locations of the riders. Meanwhile there will be a televised ceremony at each stage start with ‘acclamation of the jersey wearers and heroes of the day’.
New on digital screens in 2018, the Tour de France is releasing its Fantasy Game for the first time. A.S.O adds that fans can now build their own teams, select their riders and score points based on their performance in each stage.
