Eurosport Secures Exclusive Worldwide Rights for Inaugural Six Day Cycling Series

Eurosport underlines position as Home of Cycling, presenting all three Grand Tours, including the Tour de France, and all five Monuments

Eurosport to become gatekeeper for broadcast rights to the track cycling series for 2016/17 –

World’s best track cycling heroes set to compete in thrilling new series

 

Singapore, 20 October 2016 – Eurosport is bringing cycling fans another new series of world-class track cycling events, with the inaugural 2016/2017 season of the Six Day Series.  Eurosport, the undisputed Home of Cycling, will hold exclusive international rights*, and work with the organisers to help grow the series globally through strategic sublicense agreements with local broadcasters.

The series will be broadcast worldwide across Eurosport channels and platforms. In Asia Pacific, it will air in Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand.

The Six Day Series is owned and operated by Madison Sports Group and will feature some of the world’s best professional riders like Mark Cavendish, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Kenny de Ketele, Moreno de Pauw, Morgan Kneisky and Benjamin Thomas in a new innovative format, all set within a unique party-like atmosphere with great music and entertainment forming the backdrop to the drama on the track.

The full calendar for the 2016/17 6 Race Series:

  • London: 25 – 30 October 2016
  • Amsterdam: 6 – 11 December 2016
  • Berlin: 19 – 24 January 2017
  • Copenhagen: 26 – 31 January 2017Mallorca (The Final): 17 March 2017

Peter Hutton, CEO of Eurosport, said: “The Six Days Racing series has undoubtedly found its natural home at Eurosport, where we fuel the passion of fans all year round with an unrivalled calendar of world-class cycling. We are always looking at how we can innovate in the sport, be it using augmented reality to explain the intricacies of cycling or creating the first ever 360° VR film shot during a competitive cycling race.  Given this commitment to find new ways to bring fans even closer to their sport, we are particularly excited to partner with Six Day Racing and support their ambition to transform track cycling.”

Mark Darbon, Madison Sports Group CEO, said: “The Six Day Series is bringing a discipline with a fantastic history right up to date and having a quality live broadcast partner is vital. Eurosport knows cycling inside out and is absolutely the right partner to be working with as we launch the first ever Six Day Series. We’ve given Six Day racing a makeover to make it more compelling, more exciting and more accessible for spectators – whether they’re in the venue or watching at home. We cannot wait to get started.”

Held over six consecutive nights, the Six Day Series sees teams of two riders compete in multiple races across a variety of sprint and endurance disciplines in a bid to be crowned champions. The cornerstone of the event is the Madison race where the riders sling each other in and out of the action, creating compelling and highly tactical racing.

Alongside the elite men, there is an elite women’s omnium competition set to run across the series with men and women riders battling it out to qualify for a one-off, one-night spectacular final in Mallorca on 17 March 2017.

The partnership with the Six Day Series utilises pioneering production initiatives to bring fans closer to the action, including on-bike cameras, real-time speed, heart rate and cadence data from riders.  For the first time in track cycling, location tracking will be integrated for each rider to help follow the race more closely than ever before.

Cycling enthusiasts can catch all three Grand Tours, including the Tour de France, and all five Monuments on Eurosport.  Last month Eurosport launched the first ever 360° VR film shot during a competitive cycling race.  The footage was captured during La Vuelta and was shared with fans via the Eurosport VR App.

More information about the Six Day Series can be found here. High-res images are downloadable here.

 -ENDS-

*Non-exclusive in the UK

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