For many years, every stage of the Tour de France was screened free-to-air in the UK on ITV. That ceased after the 2025 edition, when the channel lost the broadcasting rights.
The Tour de France is run by the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) and television coverage is organised by France Télévisions, the national broadcaster.
ASO sells global coverage rights to broadcasters in 190 countries. This is a major source of revenue for the Tour, representing around 55% of total income with most of the balance coming from advertising.
In some countries, such as Australia, the race is still broadcast on a free-to-air station, while in others the rights have been bought by a subscription channel.
The move to TNT Sports
That’s the case in the UK, where TNT Sports/HBO Max has secured broadcast rights until 2030. ITV had been showing the race since 2001 and before that it was free to view on Channel 4.
UK-based viewers now need to pay for an HBO Max subscription to view each stage live or longer highlights.
But all is not lost for Brits. Channel 5 will be broadcasting highlights of the 2026 race free-to-air and will have full coverage from 2027. It's also secured an agreement with TNT Sports to show highlights of the Tour de France Femmes and Vuelta a España this year and highlights of the Giro d'Italia in 2027.
A range of other ASO-organised races, such as Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Nice, are also locked into the deal. So it's likely there will be no free-to-air live coverage of these races until at least 2030.
Inspiring generations
For many cyclists, ITV’s full stage and highlights coverage provided their first taste of racing. It piqued their interest in the sport, inspiring generations of cyclists, both amateurs and professionals.
The former ITV team does have plans to cover the 2026 race, however, via a free-to-air commentary, although without live images from the race.
In the US, rights are shared by NBC Sports/Peacock and FloBikes. This means a subscription is needed, although highlights of some stages will be aired free on NBC Sports.
Our how to watch the 2026 Tour de France guide covers worldwide broadcasters, subscription costs and free-of-charge options.
More on the 2026 Tour de France
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- Spotted! Remco Evenepoel will ride this prototype Specialized Shiv time trial bike at the Tour de France
- Can the Tour de France ever be Pogačar-proof? The race organisers face a near-impossible task
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- Live Tour de France coverage to be broadcast on S4C and BBC iPlayer
