With the conclusion of the 2023 road cycling season, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports has revealed that its coverage of the Grand Tours - Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, La Vuelta a España – has set new audience records across all platforms.
In particular, WBD sports said coverage of La Vuelta a España broke streaming records, matching the feat achieved across discovery+, Eurosport App and GCN+ during the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes.
After 21 stages of live and on-demand coverage of La Vuelta, discovery+ increased its viewership by +72% year-on-year with WBD’s total streaming audience increasing by more than a fifth (+21%). This was coupled with an 8% increase in viewers enjoying Eurosport’s television coverage across Europe, including a record edition of the race in France.
Using the strategy of telling the stories of La Vuelta and its riders, local language Eurosport.com sites recorded a 52% increase in unique users consuming cycling content during the race across Europe with every market experiencing growth in visitors as part of a record edition.
WBD Sports added that well over half a million daily visitors were garnered across the network and millions of fans in Spain and France alone engaged with Eurosport’s local reporting over the three-week race. On social media platforms, video views rose by +86% with triple digit increases in engagement secured with daily highlights and analysis, behind-the-scenes content and exclusive interviews piquing interest.
Local studio shows were said to have proved effective in engaging fans for longer. Viewers in France turned in to Eurosport x GCN’s Les Rois de la Pédale in record numbers during La Vuelta in 2023. In Spain, double digit increases in audience reach were reported for La Montonera during the race and the UK’s The Breakaway remained consistent with 2022. The popularity in local cycling analysis shows is further demonstrated by Germany’s Velo Club which increased its viewership by 30% across the entire road cycling season.
The Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Tour de France all reported increases in audiences for WBD’s subscription streaming platforms while television viewership on Eurosport remained consistent year-on-year. Overall, WBD said it had grown total engagement in its coverage of women’s cycling by a quarter compared with 2022.
“As part of our ‘home of cycling’ offer, we showcase all forms of the sport while innovating our coverage with world-leading analysis tools and the most knowledgeable cycling talent,” said Scott Young, SVP content & production at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, commenting on the ratings.
“Following a historic 2023 Grand Tour season, our strategy to leverage our full suite of subscription streaming platforms, premium TV channels and free-to-air networks in key markets, together with our unrivalled output of quality digital and social media content, we have successfully engaged more viewers around the world than ever before, supporting the continued growth of the sport. It’s particularly pleasing that our commitment to women’s cycling is being mirrored by ever-increasing audiences as we harness our deep cycling expertise and storytelling ability to elevate the journeys of female riders year-round.”
After 21 stages of live and on-demand coverage of La Vuelta, discovery+ increased its viewership by +72% year-on-year with WBD’s total streaming audience increasing by more than a fifth (+21%). This was coupled with an 8% increase in viewers enjoying Eurosport’s television coverage across Europe, including a record edition of the race in France.
Using the strategy of telling the stories of La Vuelta and its riders, local language Eurosport.com sites recorded a 52% increase in unique users consuming cycling content during the race across Europe with every market experiencing growth in visitors as part of a record edition.
WBD Sports added that well over half a million daily visitors were garnered across the network and millions of fans in Spain and France alone engaged with Eurosport’s local reporting over the three-week race. On social media platforms, video views rose by +86% with triple digit increases in engagement secured with daily highlights and analysis, behind-the-scenes content and exclusive interviews piquing interest.
Local studio shows were said to have proved effective in engaging fans for longer. Viewers in France turned in to Eurosport x GCN’s Les Rois de la Pédale in record numbers during La Vuelta in 2023. In Spain, double digit increases in audience reach were reported for La Montonera during the race and the UK’s The Breakaway remained consistent with 2022. The popularity in local cycling analysis shows is further demonstrated by Germany’s Velo Club which increased its viewership by 30% across the entire road cycling season.
The Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Tour de France all reported increases in audiences for WBD’s subscription streaming platforms while television viewership on Eurosport remained consistent year-on-year. Overall, WBD said it had grown total engagement in its coverage of women’s cycling by a quarter compared with 2022.
“As part of our ‘home of cycling’ offer, we showcase all forms of the sport while innovating our coverage with world-leading analysis tools and the most knowledgeable cycling talent,” said Scott Young, SVP content & production at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, commenting on the ratings.
“Following a historic 2023 Grand Tour season, our strategy to leverage our full suite of subscription streaming platforms, premium TV channels and free-to-air networks in key markets, together with our unrivalled output of quality digital and social media content, we have successfully engaged more viewers around the world than ever before, supporting the continued growth of the sport. It’s particularly pleasing that our commitment to women’s cycling is being mirrored by ever-increasing audiences as we harness our deep cycling expertise and storytelling ability to elevate the journeys of female riders year-round.”
