NBC locks up Amgen Tour of California coverage through 2019
NBC Sports and AEG Worldwide agreed to a three-year media rights extension of the Amgen Tour of California on May 12.
NBC started televising the Tour of California in 2007 during the second year of the weeklong bicycle race. With the extension, NBC Sports Group will retain U.S. media rights on all platforms and will provide up to 16 hours of live race coverage on NBC and NBCSN. The three-year media rights extension will start in 2017 and run through 2019.
The eleventh edition of the race starts May 15 in San Diego and run 782 miles to Sacramento. Stage 3 will run from Thousand Oaks to Gibraltar Road in Santa Barbara on May 17. Stage 4 will start on May 18 in Morro Bay and finish at the Laguna Seca Raceway.
NBC’s live coverage of the 2015 tour averaged 194,000 viewers, up 7 percent from the comparable coverage in 2014 and up 30 percent from 2013, according to the Nielsen Company.
Live coverage of Stage 3 will start at 2 p.m. on May 17 and run until 4 p.m. on NBCSN. Live coverage of Stage 4 will also start at 2 p.m. and run until 4 p.m. on NBCSN. Race coverage will also be streamed on the NBC Sports Live Extra app.
This is just the second time in the race’s history it will run south to north.
• Contact Philip Joens at [email protected].
