NEW DELHI: Discovery will be the exclusive home of the Giro d’Italia in most countries across the globe until at least 2025 under a new deal signed with RCS Sport.
The long-term deal means Discovery retains its status as the Giro’s multi-platform rights holder, providing live and uninterrupted coverage of every stage from the year’s first Grand Tour on Eurosport via streaming platform discovery+ and through the Global Cycling Network (GCN). Indian audiences can view Giro d’Italia on Eurosport and Eurosport HD as well as on discovery+ app from 8–30 May 2021.
This includes the men’s and women’s RCS races, comprising the Italian Monuments Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia, as well as the UAE Tour. A range of UCI World Tour events and one-day Classics held in Italy are also part of the agreement including the Strade Bianche Men and Women Elite, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-Torino, Gran Piemonte, the Giro di Sicilia, Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia. The first UCI World Tour event of the 2021 season, the UAE Tour, is also included on an exclusive basis.
Eurosport and Global Sports Rights & Sports Marketing Solutions president Andrew Georgiou said, “Discovery has a rich heritage of screening the widest range of men’s and women’s cycling events through Eurosport and GCN and is constantly innovating to provide the best viewing experience for passionate cycling fans everywhere. We’re pleased to have consolidated our portfolio of world-class cycling rights through a long-term extension with RCS to keep the Giro d’Italia on our channels and platforms for years to come. Through our partnership between Eurosport and GCN, and increasingly in 2021 through discovery+, we will continue to harness our deep cycling expertise and unrivalled global scale to unlock the power of the sport for all to enjoy.”
In addition to showing every minute of every Grand Tour in 2020, a range of local digital shows and podcasts will be offered for fans in multiple markets including The Breakaway and The Bradley Wiggins Show podcast (UK), Bistrot Vélo (France) and Extra Time (Germany). The Discovery brands will continue to showcase world-class cycling throughout 2021 with 300 days of live men’s and women’s events on offer, including 16 days of action from the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, broadening the reach of the sport in all its forms to a global audience.
The news follows Eurosport’s announcement that it will screen a raft of world-class UCI events in 2021 including the UCI Road World Championship, UCI Track Cycling World Championship, UCI Mountain Biking World Championship, BMX World Championship, Urban Cycling World Championship, Cyclo-Cross World Championship as well as the conclusion of the Cyclo-Cross World Cup.
