British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSY), the U.K.’s biggest pay-TV provider, is holding talks about becoming a partner in a new cycling championship involving most of the teams that compete in the Tour de France, three people familiar with the situation said.
BSkyB wants to increase its bet on cycling after bankrolling Team Sky, whose rider Bradley Wiggins last year became the first British winner of the Tour, the people said. News Corp., which owns 40 percent of BSkyB, is also interested in broadcasting the series outside the U.K., one of the people said. The people declined to be identified because discussions are private.
The so-called World Series Cycling project is gathering pace as the sport’s ruling body, Union Cycliste Internationale, which has opposed it for more than a year, is weakened by the fallout from Lance Armstrong’s doping confession. A BSkyB executive and attorney met with a dozen teams on Feb. 13 in Geneva and another meeting about the project is scheduled for tomorrow in Paris, two of the people said.
“It’s an opportunistic move: it’s probably a time when people are in favor of a breakaway” championship, said Tim Westcott, an analyst who covers BSkyB and sports rights for media consulting firm IHS Screen Digest.
BSkyB spokeswoman Alice Macandrew didn’t immediately return a call and e-mail seeking comment on this month’s meeting with teams. News Corp. spokeswoman Miranda Higham declined to comment on the company’s plans for the sports-rights market.
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