''Cycling on NBC'' is the de facto name for broadcasts of multiple-stage bicycle races produced by

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

, the sports division of the NBC television network. This includes broadcasts of the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, UCI World Tour Championships, Tour of California, USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

Overview

Coors Classic coverage

In 1985, NBC broadcast the

Coors International Bicycle Classic The Coors International Bicycle Classic (1980–1988) was a stage race sponsored by the Coors Brewing Company. Coors was the race's second sponsor; the first, Celestial Seasonings, named the race after its premium tea Red Zinger, which began in 1 ...

as part of its anthology program ''

Sportsworld ''Sportsworld'' (also known as ''NBC SportsWorld'') is an American sports anthology television program which aired on NBC on Saturday afternoons from 1978 to 1994. Format The program presented a wide variety of lower-profile and offbeat sporting ...

''. Greg Lewis anchored NBC's coverage alongside Connie Carpenter and Alexi Grewal.

Tour de Trump coverage

From 1989 to 1990, NBC broadcast the Tour de Trump, which was a North American cycling

stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages, but sometimes stages ...

initially sponsored by businessman (and later U.S. President) Donald Trump. For the very first edition in 1989, Dick Enberg anchored the coverage alongside Gary Gerould and analyst Clif Halsey. Greg Lewis meanwhile, interviewed cyclists after the final stage. NBC would cover at least two weeks worth of action for two hours each on Sunday afternoons while ESPN otherwise, provided the bulk of the coverage. The following year, NBC announced that it would commit to airing at least six hours worth of the Tour de Trump race. This time, John Tesh anchored NBC's coverage alongside Phil Liggett. Incidentally, the idea for the race was conceived by John Tesh, who had covered the

1987 Tour de France The 1987 Tour de France was the 74th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 1 to 26 July. It consisted of 25 stages over . It was the closest three-way finish in the Tour until the 2007 Tour de France, among the closest overall races ...

for CBS and on his return suggested holding a race in the United States to the basketball commentator and entrepreneur Billy Packer. Packer originally planned to call the race the Tour de Jersey. He approached representatives of casinos in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

for sponsorship, and Donald Trump offered to be the race's primary sponsor and Packer's business partner in the venture. It was Packer who suggested the Tour de Trump name.

Tour de France coverage

In 1999,

NBCSN NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...

, then known as Outdoor Life Network (or OLN) acquired the U.S. broadcast rights to the Tour de France for US$3 million. Coverage of the ''Tour'' on OLN brought substantially greater viewership to the then fledgling channel, due in part to the then-growing popularity of American rider Lance Armstrong. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, where Armstrong would aim for a record-breaking sixth straight Tour de France title, OLN would devote over 344 hours in July to coverage of the ''Tour'', along with documentaries and other original programming surrounding the event – which was promoted through a US$20 million advertising campaign. Overall, while its coverage of the Tour de France helped OLN expand its carriage to over 60 million homes, rumors surrounding Armstrong's possible retirement from racing led to concerns over OLN's emphasis on him (to the point that some critics referred to OLN as standing for "Only Lance Network"), with critics questioning whether the network could sustain itself without the viewership that Lance Armstrong's presence had brought to its coverage. Carriage of the Tour de France continued through OLN's retooling as a mainstream sports channel and rebranding as Versus. In 2011, Versus owner

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

acquired a majority stake in NBC Universal, and merged its sports cable networks with that company's

division. NBC Sports would continue to carry the Tour on Versus, later rebranded as the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN). The

2015 Tour de France The 2015 Tour de France was the 102nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 4 July in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and concluding on 26 July with the Champs-Élysées stage ...

saw its highest ratings on NBCSN since 2010, with average viewership increased to 365,000 , and stage 8 having nearly a million viewers on NBC. Beginning in 2016, NBC began to stream additional coverage via a subscription service, including replays, the commercial-free world feed, and other second screen content. This app expanded into the "Cycling Pass" service on NBC Sports Gold in 2017, which would also include coverage of the UCI Road World Championships, Colorado Classic, and Volta a Catalunya. After the discontinuation of OLN's successor

at the end of 2021, linear television coverage of the Tour de France moved to other NBCUniversal cable networks such as USA Network and CNBC. NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock would also carry all stages . On February 15, 2023, NBC Sports announced that it had renewed its media rights to broadcast the Tour de France through 2029. Beginning in 2024, cable simulcasts will be discontinued, with all stages becoming exclusive to Peacock, and occasional stages simulcast by NBC.

CNBC's coverage

In 2015, CNBC aired portions of the 2015 UCI Road Cycling World Championships. In 2020, CNBC aired Stage 14 and Stage 15 of the Tour de France. In 2022, CNBC aired stage 8 of the

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...

. In 2022, CNBC aired portions of the

Women's Tour de France The Tour de France Femmes () is an annual women's cycle stage race around France. It is organised by Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), which also runs the Tour de France. It is part of the UCI Women's World Tour. Some teams and media have referr ...

Commentators

* Adam Blythe – He was an "on-site" reporter for

' coverage of the

2020 Tour de France The 2020 Tour de France was the 107th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on 27 June 2020, it was postponed until 29 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in F ...

, and fulfilled that role again for

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. *

Paul Burmeister Paul Burmeister (born March 10, 1971) Paul Burmeister is an American sportscaster with NBC Sports and NBC Olympics, working primarily as a play-by-play voice and studio host across a wide range of platforms. Prior to his arrival at NBC in 2014, he ...

– He has hosted NBC's studio coverage of the Tour de France. * Connie Carpenter *Jenna Corrado * Chris Horner – In 2019, Horner joined the team of broadcaster NBC for their coverage of the Tour de France, acting as a commentator. *

Todd Gogulski Todd Gogulski is a former cycling TV commentator for NBC Universal Sports and Versus and a former professional road racer. Early life and early career He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1962, but grew up in northern California and Santa Fe, ...

– In 2009, he joined the NBC Universal Sports cycling TV commentary team with Steve Schlanger, with whom he covers the Tour of the Basque Country, the Giro d'Italia, the Vuelta a España, the World Road Championships,

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

, and others. For 2011, he joined the Versus Tour de France TV broadcasting team alongside Bob Roll, Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, and Liam McHugh. * Alexi Grewal * Todd Harris – Harris has acted as host for the network's coverage of the Tour de France. * Craig Hummer – In 2010, Hummer was host of the daily news segments for Universal Sports' Vancouver Olympic Games coverage. He was an announcer on the ''Las Vegas Super Sprint'' in 2014, and became the announcer for La Course, a woman's race produced by Le Tour de France. * Liam McHugh – In the summer of 2011, McHugh stepped into the role of host for NBC's live daily coverage of the Tour de France. *Greg Lewis * Phil Liggett – Liggett has reported on over 15 Olympic Games and 44

Tours de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists o ...

, generally alongside fellow veteran cycling commentators and former cyclists Paul Sherwen (UK) and Bob Roll (US). Because of his varied assignments, Liggett has worked for all of the American Big Three networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC. * Carolyn Manno * Scott Moninger *Steve Porino * Bob Roll – He has been a member of the veteran cable television broadcasting team (along with Phil Liggett, MBE and Paul Sherwen) who served as road cycling expert-commentators for the NBC Sports Network cable network's coverage of the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, Giro d'Italia, Paris–Roubaix, Tour of California, and other international cycling road races. *Steve Schlanger * Paul Sherwen – Up until the conclusion of the

2016 Tour de France The 2016 Tour de France was the 103rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 2 July in Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, and concluding on 24 July with the Champs-Élysées sta ...

, Sherwen provided the commentary broadcast internationally for many television networks including Australia's SBS Network and the United States'

with Phil Liggett. * John Tesh * Al Trautwig – He co-anchored coverage of the Tour de France from 2004 to 2007 on Versus (formerly OLN). Despite his years of experience as a broadcaster, he was sometimes criticized by cycling fans, for his occasionally uninformed commentary, and his tendency to compare the Tour to various mainstream sports he has covered. * Christian Vande Velde – He has been a cycling analyst for

since 2014. * Jens Voigt – After his career, he worked as a TV presenter in Germany and in the USA. In the US he has been part of the

coverage team which was initially led by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, and was later led by Liggett and Bob Roll with added commentary from Voigt, Steve Porino, Christian Vande Velde,

and Chris Horner. * Laura Winter – She is the NBC reporter and commentator for the Tour of California women's race.

Summer Olympics

References

External links

*
Tour de France , NBC SportsNBC SPORTS’ COVERAGE OF THE 108TH TOUR DE FRANCE CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND ACROSS NBC, NBCSN & PEACOCKNBC Sports Gold Cycling Pass
{{Cycling on United States television NBC original programming NBCSN shows NBC Sports Sports telecast series NBC 1989 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings 2011 American television series debuts 1980s American television series 1990s American television series 2020s American television series Sportsworld (American TV series)