Eurosport ups coverage of Giro d’Italia
May 1, 2019
Eurosport will have every moment and kilometre covered at this year’s Giro d’Italia thanks to a 360-degree editorial offer. The first Grand Tour of 2019 will be the first that Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network (GCN) have worked in collaboration at a live event since Discovery took a majority stake in the company in January.
Fans won’t miss a minute of the action in the race for the maglia rosa, with Eurosport vowing an unprecedented level of coverage including over 100 hours of coverage – from live cycling to post-race analysis. The race runs from May 11th to June 2nd.
Emir Osmanbegovic, SVP Sports Content & Production at Eurosport, said: “We are incredibly proud of our heritage in cycling and our deep expertise in the sport. Cycling fans are extremely passionate and together with the great team at GCN we are powering that passion by offering a full, 360-degree experience of all 21 stages of the Giro d’Italia on all platforms. Our coverage will feature the best and biggest names in the sport across Europe and we will deliver cycling fans the depth of coverage they deserve.”
Bradley Wiggins, who will link up with Eurosport in the UK throughout the season, added: “I am excited to be working for Eurosport at the Giro. Eurosport is the go-to destination for the best races throughout the season and I am looking forward to giving my own, unfiltered views during the Giro. At this year’s race, with the three ITT, you think that would favour Tom Dumoulin. You obviously have Egal Bernal as well who is fresh on the back of his Paris-Nice victory – he is an immense talent who I am sure will win the Giro one day. It’s going to be a fantastic race and it’s probably the best race to watch of them all. I’ll go for Simon Yates, with Bernal as the dark horse.”
At the end of each stage, a 30-minute Giro Extra show on Eurosport will re-cap the best of the day’s action. Eurosport’s coverage of the race will be complemented by GCN, who create a variety of video content on-site for millions of cycling fans across the globe including in local languages (Spanish and Italian in addition to English) for the very first time.
Supplementing Eurosport’s live coverage will be the return of 60 Seconds Pro – a short-form feature series breaking down key elements of the sport – featuring cycling luminaries Tom Dumoulin, Simon Yates and Matteo Trentin.
Eurosport’s digital and social offering will underpin its coverage away from the course, with local pre and post stage Facebook Live shows in key markets including the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark and the UK – where it will launch a brand-new cycling debate show where the fans themselves will be encouraged to drive the news agenda. GCN will also be producing a daily race show throughout the Giro d’Italia ensuring fans won’t miss a beat from one of the most thrilling races of the season.
Eurosport will screen the first Grand Tour of the season in 89 markets and territories across Europe, mainland Asia and Asia-Pacific regions. Discovery-owned Quest (UK) will broadcast daily highlights while another Discovery brand, Kanal 5 (Denmark), will screen the first two stages of the race from Bologna live.