| Cycling on CBS | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Multiple-stagebicycle racing |
| Directed by | David Michaels |
| Starring | Greg Amsinger Tim Brant James Brown John Dockery Jim Gray Eric Heiden Craig Hummer Armen Keteyian Bob Neumeier Phil Liggett Tim Ryan Paul Sherwen John Tesh |
| Composers | John Tesh Yanni Geoffrey Downes |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Ted Shaker Harold Bryant |
| Producers | David Michaels Victor Frank[1] |
| Production locations | France and other countries |
| Animator | Post Group |
| Editors | Raymond Ek Stig Johansson |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 3 1/2 hours |
| Production companies | CBS Sports OLN |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | 1980 (1980) – July 24, 1988 (1988-07-24) |
| Release | 2001 (2001) – July 25, 2010 (2010-07-25) |
| Related | |
Cycling on CBS is the de facto name for broadcasts ofmultiple-stagebicycle races produced byCBS Sports, the sports division of theCBS television network. CBS was notably the first[2] American television network to provide coverage of theTour de France.[3] CBS also provided coverage ofParis–Roubaix during the 1980s.
CBS first covered the Tour de France in1980, airing approximately five minutes of action. During that time, CBS typicallytaped segments of the beginning of the stage in order to air them the following weekend onCBS Sports Sunday. The final stage would however, be broadcast live.[4]
On April 7, 1985, CBS entered into an agreement with Broadcasting Rights International Corporation to retain the American television broadcasting rights to the Tour de France through1988. The agreement was said to initially be worth approximately$50,000 with an additional $237,000 for the broadcasting rights to the1987 tour. By 1986,[5] CBS would devote to3+1⁄2 hours of coverage for five consecutive weekends.
When CBS broadcast their final Tour de France in 1988,[6] their coverage for the first three weekends[7] consisted of highlights and features.Tim Brant andPhil Liggett served as hosts for the telecasts airing under theCBS Sports Sunday umbrella. CBS would however, air the final stage live on July 24.
In2001, theOutdoor Life Network[8] (or OLN[9][10]) replacedABC andESPN as the principal American television broadcaster for the Tour de France. The network in the process,purchased air time[11] on CBS,[12] where three one-hour[13] tape delayed specials would air on Sunday afternoons. These specials mainly recapped[14] the past few days of action[15] from the final three weeks[16] of the tour. CBS however, devoted3+1⁄2 hours to the final stage of the tour onCBS Sports Spectacular. In total, the arrangement with OLN and CBS was worth approximately $3.3 million.[17]
CBS employed the services of commentatorsArmen Keteyian,[18] Phil Liggett,[19] andPaul Sherwen. In2006,Bob Neumeier[20] succeeded Armen Keteyian[21] as the host. Thefollowing year,Craig Hummer[22] succeeded Neumeier in the hosting role[23] for CBS.
In 2008,Greg Amsinger hosted theTour de France for CBS.[24]
CBS' involvement with the Tour de France once again ended whenNBC[25] took over the American broadcast television network rights in2011.
In 1983, CBS teamed with World Tour Cycling to devote at least 27 minutes to the Tour of America,[26] which was a 130 km race fromWilliamsburg, Virginia toRichmond, Virginia.[27]
CBS began coveringParis–Roubaix in1984 and continued on through1988, when the coverage like with the Tour de France moved over toABC.Theo de Rooij, a Dutchman, had been in a promising position to win the1985 race but had then crashed, losing his chance of winning. Covered in mud, he offered his thoughts on the race to John Tesh after the race:
"It's a bollocks, this race!” said de Rooij. "You're working like an animal, you don't have time to piss, you wet your pants. You're riding in mud like this, you're slipping ... it’s a pile of shit".
When then asked if he would start the race again, de Rooij replied:
"Sure, it's the most beautiful race in the world!”[28]
In 1991,[29] CBS succeededNBC in providing broadcast network coverage of theTour DuPont.[30] WhileESPN would provide daily, 30-minute long recaps each weeknight, CBS would provide their coverage on May 12 and May 19 as part ofCBS Sports Sunday. The following year, CBS again provided two weeks worth of coverage, this time on May 10 and May 17 on 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.Eastern time respectively.Jim Gray anchored the broadcasts alongside Phil Liggett andJames Brown.[31] By 1994, whenCBS Sports Sunday was now branded asEye on Sports,[32] CBS[33] devoted at least two hours to the finale on May 15. James Brown[34] once again helped anchor the coverage.
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