Channel Nine – The New Home of The Santos Tour Down Under

The Santos Tour Down Under has a new home in television, with the Nine Network securing the rights to the event for the next three years.
 

The move to Nine is set to boost the Santos Tour Down Under’s national audience and provide new avenues for promotion for the event, which was admitted into the South Australian Tourism Awards Hall of Fame last week and named the Australian Event of the Year at the Australian Event Awards last month.

Hitaf Rasheed, General Manager Events South Australia, welcomed a new era in the life of the State’s largest sporting festival.

“We’re excited about the new partnership with the Nine Network, who have a proven track record in the coverage of major sporting events and are the official broadcasters of the London 2012 Olympic Games,” Ms Rasheed said.

“Our goal is to grow the promotion of the Santos Tour Down Under and the sport of cycling and to give existing fans increased access to the event, while at the same time reaching out to a new audience. We’re confident this can be achieved with the Nine Network’s Wide World of Sports and associated website on the ninemsn portal,” Ms Rasheed said.

Whilst world renowned and much-loved international cycling experts Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen will continue to be the faces and voices of the Santos Tour Down Under, Channel Nine personality Andrew Voss will host the broadcast coverage in 2012.

Steve Crawley, Head of Sport for the Nine Network, said: “Australia has a great history of success in Olympic cycling and in an Olympic year this event will showcase some of the best Australian and international cycling talent leading into London 2012.”

Whilst excited about the future with the Nine Network, Ms Rasheed acknowledged the significant contribution of former broadcaster SBS Television.

“We truly appreciate the commitment and contribution SBS had made to the growth of cycling and the Santos Tour Down Under over many years and in particular over the past three years as the official television broadcaster.”

The Santos Tour Down Under is the first event each year on the UCI WorldTour calendar. This year, more than 780,000 spectators, including 37,000 visitors, lined the streets of Adelaide and regional South Australia to watch the race, injecting $43.3 million into the South Australian economy.

The Broadcast partnership will see the final weekend of the Santos Tour Down Under broadcast live on Channel Nine in 2012, with the remainder of the event shown in a dedicated highlights package each evening. These live stages will also be streamed live on the Wide World of Sport website.

The 2012 Santos Tour Down Under will be held in Adelaide and regional South Australia from 15-22 January.