German state TV to broadcast Tour after all 07/05/2009 |
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German state TV is to broadcast the Tour de France after announcing last October they were ending their live coverage of the event because of a number of doping cases in the sport.
"The Tour de France will be broadcast live this year again by ARD and ZDF," ARD said in a statement on their website (www.ard.de) late on Tuesday.
ARD added there would be a daily one-hour programme, including a 30-minute live broadcast of the final kilometres of each stage.
In October, ARD and ZDF said they would not broadcast the 2009 Tour after it was announced German Stefan Schumacher and Austrian Bernhard Kohl tested positive for CERA, a new generation of the banned blood-booster EPO.
In 2007, ARD and ZDF suspended their live coverage of the Tour following the announcement that German rider Patrick Sinkewitz had failed a dope test earlier in the season.
Tour de France organisers' ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation) were pleased with the news.
"It is a good piece of news for the Tour de France, we are happy to see ARD and ZDF broadcasting the race," ASO deputy director Yann Le Moenner told Reuters by telephone.
"It is good for cycling. They have seen how the sport has been dealing with doping and decided they would cover the Tour."
German state TV signed in June 2008, a contract with ASO to broadcast the Tour from 2009 to 2011 for an undisclosed fee.
"We are happy to welcome them," Le Moenner added.
"In Germany, the Tour will now be fully broadcast on Eurosport, with a one-hour programme on ARD and ZDF."
(Source: Reuters)
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