Another year, another summer of NBC’s Tour de France coverage. Much is the same as it’s always been, although it’s now mostly available in the confines of its Peacock streaming platform. Phil Liggett and Bob Roll on commentary, with some extra f-bombs for good measure, while reporter Steve Porino ingratiates himself with the weird and wonderful roadside of the race course.
It’s a feel-good soundtrack of summer, with added America, of course, the trumpet chorus bringing viewers in and out of the ad breaks, a bridge to NFL Sunday during the lean sporting month of July.
But there has been something new added to the broadcast this year, too: a post-stage analysis show featuring former Tour riders. Great, you may think, and you still may think that when you find out the show is fronted by Lance Armstrong. Others may feel differently.
Nestled within NBC’s Peacock app, between the upcoming live streams of future stages and highlights of the racing already completed in France, is Lance Armstrong’s The Move, a podcast/analysis show he began in 2017.
You may have missed the pre-Tour press release announcing the arrival of Armstrong to an official Tour de France broadcaster. So here are the details:
“Peacock will offer on-demand access to episodes of THEMOVE following Stages 1, 4, 11, 14, 15, 19, 20, and 21, as well as a preview show ahead of the start of the Tour de France,” the release stated, adding it “offers an incisive perspective on the Tour de France and cycling, with course previews and race analysis from Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie.”
This isn’t Armstrong’s first rodeo with NBC, having appeared on the network’s Tour de France coverage back in 2019 via video-link as an “unpaid guest,” CyclingNews reported at the time.
That report also included a statement from the UCI, clarifying that media appearances with official UCI race broadcasters does not violate his lifetime ban from the sport.
“Lance Armstrong’s lifetime ineligibility prevents him from conducting any kind of official or professional activity in a sanctioned event,” the UCI’s statement read. “However, it is not preventing him from taking on activities outside organised cycling, attending or commenting cycling events. The Union Cycliste Internationale [UCI] is ensuring within the boundaries of its regulations that any ban is enforced within the cycling community. Having reiterated that, we are not keen to fuel a debate that will not serve our sport.”
Regardless, Armstrong would disappear from NBC’s official broadcast until this summer, five years later.
That doesn’t mean Armstrong has been holed up on YouTube patiently biding his time. Two years ago, we reported how Armstrong had somehow managed to acquire the rights to show Tour race highlights, presumably via a third party. ASO were seemingly not aware of this, as the race footage and all mention of official partnership with the Tour de France disappeared from Armstrong’s show soon after our enquiries were made.
But now he’s returned once again for another go. Sure, it’s far more removed than Armstrong showing up during a main television broadcast, so what’s the deal? What’s the point? Is this simply NBC trying to redirect some additional eyeballs towards its Peacock app? The one thing you can’t deny is the claim made in the NBC press release is that Armstrong runs one of the most popular cycling media podcasts out there. Or, if we’re going to put our finger in the air and try to gauge which direction the wind is blowing, is this potentially a more concerted effort to rehabilitate Armstrong?
We contacted NBC to find out more. What is the nature of the relationship this time around? What deal has been signed between the two parties? Is this a formal partnership? Are the plans for future collaborations after this year?
What did we hear back from NBC? Nothing. Officially. They didn’t want to comment. Neither did Tour de France organisers ASO, who understandably don’t want to do anything to upset the American broadcaster that spends millions of dollars on coverage rights for the Tour each year.
What we have managed to understand about this latest Armstrong/NBC tie-in is that the broadcaster evaluates its talent line-up year-to-year. That means that in 2025 Armstrong could be gone or, if numbers have been good and blowback has been minimal, the Texan could even be elevated beyond a lower, less conspicuous rung of the Peacock app. They’ve left that door open.
If we can understand ASO’s unwillingness to discuss a topic that could potentially hurt their bottom line, what about NBC? Despite texting back and forth with their press people, they were unwilling to give any substantive answers or insight, either on or off the record, to help us understand what is a clear change in their broadcasting of the Tour de France.
Maybe that’s due to the fact that there is a significant dividing line amongst the American cycling public who either laud or loathe Lance, and they’d rather not get in the middle of that debate. But by their simple choices, they already have: Eyeballs are eyeballs, and NBC have made the calculation that Armstrong’s inclusion is a net benefit.
In Orléans, on the first rest day of this year’s race, banners celebrating every winner were hung above the main street that leads up to the city’s cathedral. There was a jump, however, straight from 1998’s Marco Pantani to 2006’s Óscar Pereiro.
Armstrong’s inclusion and visibility at the 2024 race has been small, but not non-existent, and time will tell if we see this increase or diminish in the future. Any return to the official broadcast will likely garner larger media attention than just the nod of approval that comes with having his show carried by NBC.
As for who is calling these sorts of shots at NBC and why they are they making those decisions? Their audience probably deserves to know, but they won’t be telling you.
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