Ned Boulting was a football reporter who knew next to nothing about cycling when ITV first sent him to cover the Tour de France in 2003. “I had absolutely no idea,” he says. “I couldn’t tell you the first thing about the event, except there was some guy called Lance Armstrong who apparently was quite good. I didn’t understand what I was doing properly for years and years, but I knew straight away that whatever it was, this mad thing called the Tour de France, I absolutely loved it.”
Two decades later, Boulting has become the voice of the Tour for millions of British fans, soundtracking the famous exploits of Bradley Wiggins’s triumph in 2012, Mark Cavendish’s historic 35th stage win this summer and everything in between. Next year, Boulting and his close-knit team will celebrate 25 years of the race on ITV. And yet it will also mark their last after Warner Bros Discovery announced last week it had secured exclusive rights to broadcast the Tour from 2026 onwards.
Boulting had no idea the bombshell was coming. “I found out when everybody else found out,” he says.
It is understood ITV didn’t put up much of a fight, and the outcome is the curtain falling on four decades of the Tour de France as a free-to-air event. Discovery may show some race highlights on one of its obscure Freeview channels, but ITV’s comforting live coverage and popular highlights show, complete with iconic jingle, will be no more.
Denne historien er fra November 02, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 02, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Murray to coach Djokovic for Australian Open title
Andy Murray will coach his longtime rival Novak Djokovic before and during the Australian Open in January.
Jones's complex legacy adds intrigue to must-win clash
It was with not inconsiderable disappointment that news came through on Friday afternoon that illness had laid Eddie Jones low and the Japan head coach would be unable to conduct a planned press conference.
Mighty Springboks ensure Wales end year without win
Wales slumped to a 12th successive Test match defeat and head coach Warren Gatland saw the pressure ramped up on him as world champions South Africa won 45-12 at the Principality Stadium.
Jackson profits as Chelsea put the chaos behind them
In typically unconvincing fashion, Chelsea march on, thanks to the striker who is now, nestled nicely in Erling Haaland’s slipstream, perhaps the Premier League’s second-most-effective marksman.
Arsenal's heartbeat returns to restore missing quality
The Emirates rose to its feet as soon as it became clear Martin Odegaard would be departing.
City slump to fifth straight defeat after Spurs mauling
Five in a row has taken on a different meaning for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola.
‘No zero-risk flight paths remain over Middle East’
Aviation group warns of dangers ranging from attacks by Houthi rebels to overloads of air traffic control systems
Satellites spy North Korea’s huge imports of Russian oil
North Korea has allegedly imported more than a million barrels of oil from Russia this year, flouting United Nations sanctions, according to satellite analysis.
Cop29 secures last-minute $300bn climate finance deal
Delegates finally agree after a dramatic day of prolonged negotiations and loud protests echoing through corridors
Rabbits with missing eyes and ears had deadly virus
Dozens of rabbits found dead with missing eyes and ears had a \"dangerous\" and \"highly contagious\" form of hepatitis, according to the RSPCA.