3 ms·

Just hearing this stuff, I would never imagine this production is profitable.

privong 7y ago
> Just hearing this stuff, I would never imagine this production is profitable. It sounds like NBC doesn't even make money off their re-broadcast of it: https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/from-the-mag/inside-nbcs-tour-de-france-television-broadcast_495538 https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/from-the-mag/inside-nbcs-to...
stevenwoo 7y ago
I've read the Tour de France generates roughly 90% of the advertising income for bicycling as a sport. Each city that hosts a stage start or finish pays for the privilege.
- DC-3 7y ago
  I would guess that the French government splashes some cash as part of their cultural budget too.
Someone 7y ago
Need not be that expensive. Lots of the preparation and training can be done on the ground, even outside simulators. Let’s say 10 top pilots, each a year’s wages, additional costs for flying, etc. 10 to 20 million euro? The TdF doesn’t sell tickets, but the organizer makes a healthy profit (https://inrng.com/2017/11/amaury-sport-accounts-finances/ https://inrng.com/2017/11/amaury-sport-accounts-finances/, of which likely half or thereabouts from the Tour de France. (aside: ASO is a for-profit, and looks at the short term, to the detriment of the ever more popular women’s cycling. Earlier this year, they decided to move down two major women’s races (Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège) from the top flight level because they didn’t want to spend the money on broadcasting them that the international cycling union requires for top flight races (https://www.outsideonline.com/2397117/aso-bumps-marquee-womens-races-world-tour https://www.outsideonline.com/2397117/aso-bumps-marquee-wome...) )
- jaclaz 7y ago
  I would say much less than that. Only as a data point the Italian TV valued in 2017 8.5 millions Euro for 4 years[1] (again Italian but not too bad via google translate): https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2017/01/08/news/elicotteri_geostabilizzanti_e_droni_la_rai_stanzia_8_5_milioni_per_produrre_il_ciclismo-155637160/ https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2017/01/08/news/elicott... [1] Covering, beside the Giro d'Italia, also a few other national cyclism events.
notatoad 7y ago
I was told a couple years ago that the international live viewing audience for a world triathlon series race was approximately 40 million. there's a whole lot of television markets out there that have very different tastes to US audiences.

> Just hearing this stuff, I would never imagine this production is profitable. It sounds like NBC doesn't even make money off their re-broadcast of it: https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/from-the-mag/inside-nbcs-tour-de-france-television-broadcast_495538 https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/from-the-mag/inside-nbcs-to...

stevenwoo 7y ago

I've read the Tour de France generates roughly 90% of the advertising income for bicycling as a sport. Each city that hosts a stage start or finish pays for the privilege.

DC-3 7y ago
I would guess that the French government splashes some cash as part of their cultural budget too.

Someone 7y ago

Need not be that expensive. Lots of the preparation and training can be done on the ground, even outside simulators. Let’s say 10 top pilots, each a year’s wages, additional costs for flying, etc. 10 to 20 million euro? The TdF doesn’t sell tickets, but the organizer makes a healthy profit (https://inrng.com/2017/11/amaury-sport-accounts-finances/ https://inrng.com/2017/11/amaury-sport-accounts-finances/, of which likely half or thereabouts from the Tour de France. (aside: ASO is a for-profit, and looks at the short term, to the detriment of the ever more popular women’s cycling. Earlier this year, they decided to move down two major women’s races (Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège) from the top flight level because they didn’t want to spend the money on broadcasting them that the international cycling union requires for top flight races (https://www.outsideonline.com/2397117/aso-bumps-marquee-womens-races-world-tour https://www.outsideonline.com/2397117/aso-bumps-marquee-wome...) )

jaclaz 7y ago
I would say much less than that. Only as a data point the Italian TV valued in 2017 8.5 millions Euro for 4 years[1] (again Italian but not too bad via google translate): https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2017/01/08/news/elicotteri_geostabilizzanti_e_droni_la_rai_stanzia_8_5_milioni_per_produrre_il_ciclismo-155637160/ https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2017/01/08/news/elicott... [1] Covering, beside the Giro d'Italia, also a few other national cyclism events.

notatoad 7y ago

I was told a couple years ago that the international live viewing audience for a world triathlon series race was approximately 40 million. there's a whole lot of television markets out there that have very different tastes to US audiences.