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SBS loses Tour Down under to Nine

Nine has secured the broadcast rights to the Tour Down Under from SBS in a three-year deal to begin from January.

As previously tipped, Nine has secured the broadcast rights to the Tour Down Under from SBS in a three-year deal to begin from January.

Nine will broadcast all six stages of the Santos Tour Down Under to be held in Adelaide from January 15 to 22.

The first four stages will be screened as a daily highlights package as part of Wide World of Sports on Nine with the final two stages broadcast Live.

Andrew Voss will host with commentary from Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.

Steve Crawley, Head of Sport for the Nine Network, said: “Australia has a great history of success in Olympic cycling and in an Olympic year this event will showcase some of the best Australian and international cycling talent leading into London 2012.”

The rights switch was tipped by tweets from SBS staff last week.

“We’ll be on site and do what we’re allowed too. News access videos and some bits and pieces. Not comprehensive though,” SBS TV senior sports producer Stuart Randall tweeted.

Cycling remains a big drawcard for SBS with Cadel Evans’ win in the Tour de France as its top rating event for 2012.

It isn’t the first time Nine has swooped on the rights to a popular SBS show with Top Gear famously switching networks in a deal with the BBC.

36 Responses

  1. What an absolute disgrace. The broadcast was a joke, 11.30pm at night and why not get a great big oaf to try and talk to two very intelligent men about something he clearly knows naught about! Cut short and no respect shown towards the very iconic Phil Liggett or Paul. Disgusted and appalled at the waste of what was the best highlight of the year. Heaven help us if the Tour de France goes to the same channel. Red neck media should not be given the rights to professional sports coverage.

  2. How can a station who clearly supports a cyclist hater during the time slot the TDU coverage should have been on, have any rights broadcast cycling? Let alone doing it wrong anyway.

    Cycling is not the grand final. We are not here to see “a bunch of stacks mate”

  3. A very sad day for cycling in Australia indeed. A replay at 11:30pm? Nine 6pm news on Monday showed the start twice and little else. At least Phil & Paul have stopped Nine from mucking around with their format.

  4. Commercialism over quality. What a disgrace. Chameleon 9 cares nothing for cycling and you have no right to have anything to do with covering th tdu. Just after midnight and and an hour of coverage to go. Come on sbs and cycling fans. Show your anger!!!!!! Sbs forever!!!!!!

  5. I always lookes forward in watching the tour down under it lookes like I won’t this year. channel 9 will do what they did with the Rugby world cup and note show it. Whete was it last night {15th}. That was set up for TV

  6. Have just looked at the sbs schedule for tonight as well as every bloody channel but there is nothing to be seen. Can’t believe a sporting event like this is not being played live or at least repeated in a decent manner later. This is a disgrace! Cant wait until the European spring starts and the Eurosport coverage. Massively disappointed!!!

  7. It will be interesting to see how many ads will be telecast during Nine’s live coverage of the final two stages. If they run true to form we will get seven minutes of action then three minutes of ads. Is this any way to cover a sporting event?

  8. OMG – I have just heard about this – I must have been in a cave!
    I am absolutely horrified. Clearly, it will be a disaster on Channel 9…the death of cycling as we know it …they will rape and pillage what has been a premier coverage on SBS.. So not happy!! -:o((

  9. Whether SBS showed it Live or not its irrelevant now, the stooges at NIne have it now and they will mess it up, the organisers simply went for the money and the coverage will suffer no doubt about it. Happens all thetime here.

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