Versus Agrees To Five-Year Deal To Air Tour de France
Versus has reached a five-year deal with Amaury Sport Organization to continue
televising the Tour de France through 2013. The net will deliver a condensed
highlight version of each stage that will be distributed via the network’s
VOD platform and will be available the day following the stage’s conclusion.
Versus.com will serve as the official Tour Web site in the U.S. for the eighth
year (Versus). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Matthew Futterman reports the
deal is worth $27.5M and includes English-language rights in Canada.
The net is "deepening its investment in cycling's big race,” as it
is the “main summer programming” for Versus, accounting for roughly
17 hours of content each day during the Tour's 23-day schedule throughout July.
The deal comes as “some big sponsors have fled” the event after a
series of doping scandals. For this year’s event, Versus will launch
a new print, TV and Web ad campaign called "Take Back the Tour." The
campaign “urges fans to tune in” and by doing so, "'S-w the dopers,
politics and critics, the false allegations and the fair weather fans' who 'ripped
the soul out of this race.'" Versus Senior VP/Marketing & Promotions
Bill Bergofin said of doping, "It's the elephant in the room, but
it's on the table now. We're saying, 'Let's throw it out'" (WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 6/9).
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