Cycling’s iconic Tour de France will be shown by German public service broadcaster ZDF in 2027 for the first time in over 15 years.
SportA, the joint sports rights agency of Germany’s prominent public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, has reached an extended agreement with race organizer and promoter Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) to air the race on both channels next year.
The new deal will run through the 2028 edition.
This year, the Tour de France, running from July 4 to 26, will be broadcast on ARD and pay-TV sports broadcaster Eurosport. The women's tour, from August 1 to 9, will be shown live on ARD and in the ARD Mediathek (ARD media library).
ARD has shown the race for the last 11 years. The 2015 Tour de France marked the return of ARD as a live broadcaster of the event following a four-year hiatus.
The 2027 race will, however, be the first time ARD and ZDF team up for the Tour de France in over a decade.
The German broadcasters previously dropped live coverage after the 2011 edition, amid various doping scandals, before ARD acquired the rights again in 2015.
Before that, ARD and ZDF alternated Tour de France broadcasts for many years. Since 2015, ARD has been sharing rights with Eurosport, which has a long-term contract with the ASO.
In addition, the new agreement between SportA and ASO includes live and post-production rights for the Deutschland Tour, the Cyclassics Hamburg, and several cycling classics such as Paris-Roubaix.
This year's Deutschland Tour, from August 20 to 23, will be broadcast alternately by ARD and ZDF.
Earlier this year, ASO revealed which UK towns and cities will feature in the 2027 Grand Depart event, which will be staged across the country.
Three stages of each tour will take place in the UK before moving to France for the remaining stages.
The men’s Grand Depart will begin on July 2 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and end in Carlisle, England. The second stage, a day later, will run through England from Keswick to Liverpool, before the final stage on July 4 will begin in Welshpool, Wales, and travel across to the Welsh capital of Cardiff.
Almost a month later, the Tour de France Femmes will begin, spanning several major English cities. The event will begin on July 30 in Leeds and move on to Manchester. The second stage on July 31 will travel from Manchester to Sheffield, while the third stage on August 1 will take place around London.
ASO will partner with the British Cycling and UK Sport bodies to deliver the event, alongside the regional governments of England, Scotland, and Wales.
