Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) and J SPORTS are pleased to announce that an agreement has been signed to extend exclusive broadcast rights in Japan for A.S.O.’s major events portfolio. This agreement, which includes the Tour de France, La Vuelta, Paris-Roubaix, Critérium du Dauphiné, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège…, strengthens the dominant position of J SPORTS as the “home of cycling”.
Announced today, during the final week of the 2021Tour de France, this new rights agreement will extend the fruitful and trusting partnership between J SPORTS and A.S.O, which began in 1998.
From 2023, J SPORTS will offer its subscribers live coverage of over 20 A.S.O. events thanks to its multi-platform coverage (including linear television channels as well as its OnDemand digital OTT platform).
As part of the extended agreement, J SPORTS has also retained the exclusive Japanese rights to the Dakar Rally, the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris, as well as adding other men's and women's cycling events, in particular the freshly announced Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, to be launched in July 2022.
J SPORTS Corporation President, Ichiro Hase said: “We are thrilled to extend and expand our long-standing partnership with A.S.O. This early new agreement shows the strength of our relationship and the shared vision and commitment to further develop the enormous value of the Tour de France and many other A.S.O. organized events.
The deal ensures that J SPORTS continues to be the “home of cycling” with all three Grand Tours and prestigious classics, and to pursue our mission to deliver the races full of heart-pounding action live to millions of fans across Japan for many more years to come. By the expansion of the line-up and with more women’s races included, it will also be a powerful driver of our business to succeed in the fast-changing environment surrounding media and sport. Our brands share a great history and a very exciting future together.”
A.S.O. Managing Director, Yann Le Moënner said: “We are proud to extend our partnership with J SPORTS, who have contributed to building the Tour de France brand in Japan on and off the screen.
We value the expertise of J SPORTS in bringing the essence of our events into Japanese homes through original programming and state-of-the-art production innovations. We are pleased that this knowledge and this quest for excellence can continue to benefit the Tour de France, La Vuelta, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, the Dakar Rally, Paris-Roubaix and many other events.”
