WBD reveals cycling season plans

Warner Bros. Discovery has revealed its plans for the cycling season, where it will produce over 1,000 live broadcasts over 300 days of men’s and women’s cycling. 

This includes every men’s and women’s UCI World Tour race and Grand Tour stage, as well as every UCI Mountain Bike World Series event and a selection of Track, Cyclocross and BMX events - as well as the Olympics.

Linear coverage sees Eurosport airing 4,000 live hours in 19 languages, as well as 500 locally produced shows - including in the in the UK (The Breakaway), France (Les Rois de la Pédale), Spain (La Montonera), Italy (Tour 360) and Germany (Velo Club). There will be uninterrupted coverage throughout on streaming platform discovery+.

WBD has also launched new Eurosport Cycling YouTube and Instagram channels for showing social content and highlights.

Scott Young, GSVP, content, production and business operations at WBD Sports Europe, said: “We on the doorstep of a historic season of cycling where new names are striving to be etched into the record books with more action taking place than ever before. From the roads of Asia to the mountains of the Americas to the velodromes of Europe, our coverage of this engaging sport is truly global. Our commitment to the coverage, promotion and commentary of all cycling is only matched by that of the teams and athletes themselves. Few can reach our levels of production of the world’s biggest races while telling the stories of the greatest riders on the planet.

“By bringing to life more than 1,000 live broadcasts throughout the year, including every moment of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 this summer, through the eyes of the most recognisable experts, and harnessing the latest virtual studio innovations in tandem with immersive on-site coverage, we will get the heart of every race, every rider and every story. Additionally, with expansive coverage through our owned and operated platforms across Europe and USA together with our sublicense partners, we will make cycling accessible for the largest possible audience as the season continues to gather momentum.”

WBD also has a number of sublicencing partnerships, including working as a distribution partner for Claro (Central and LATAM); Zhibo TV (China); SBS (Australia) in addition to 14 partnerships with European broadcasters to expand coverage of certain events to local audiences in 10 markets.