Aug. 29 sees the Tour de France finally begin this year’s epic ride. Stateside, the event will be carried on NBC Sports Gold on its Cycling Pass, while Canadian audiences will be able to experience the journey via FloSports, on its FloBikes platform, where fans can take part in a Watch Party feature, a fantasy league, and more. Cynopsis Sports asked Ryan Fenton, Director, Rights Acquisition at FloSports about preparations for the event.

Fenton on the evolution of FloBikes: There has been an all-encompassing evolution of FloBikes since launch, from our media rights to our production of original content to our marketing and promotional efforts. Every year FloBikes continues to grow and service North American cycling fans with the richest experience possible. We don’t stop our efforts when we acquire media rights, this is when the work begins and our strengths shine. As we continue to build meaningful partnerships with rights holders and events, we also invest heavily into original content and storytelling along with grass roots partnerships in North America to help the growth and exposure of the sport. I believe our plans around the upcoming Tour de France will really demonstrate the depth of editorial and original content we’ve continued to enhance over the last few years. Our goal is to provide access and insight into the sport at a level that has never been done before and we want to do this 365 days a year.

On adapting to the pandemic: This has without a doubt been a truly challenging environment for sports but I believe we were and continue to be up to this particular challenge. As COVID began to impact live sports, we had to get creative and we had to find ways to service our community of passionate cycling fans in a time when the outlook on events was unknown. We supported a number of our partners (both local and international) by broadcasting their virtual events (which were very popular) while our content teams created new original programming, produced shorts and highlights around iconic cycling moments from major events, and even re-aired the full broadcasts of 2019 events so fans could relive the excitement around their favorite teams and riders. It’s kept our subscribers engaged and now that we have live cycling again, it proved invaluable but also a real learning experience.  We’ll be instituting some of the learnings, even post-COVID. During this time we also got the chance to explore new ways of event coverage that could provide a richer experience for our viewers, especially within our apps where we can now host live stream “watch-parties” and have special guests interact with the viewers while they watch their favorite races. These types of broadcast enhancements have been driving engagement and the response has been incredibly positive.

On surprises: One of the biggest surprises has been the continued feedback we receive from the community in North America. While cycling is a global sport, North Americans have never had a broadcaster who focused on covering the sport all year round. As a company, even when you feel there is a need in the marketplace, ultimately the feedback from the community and the fans tells the true story. Cycling is an exciting sport with amazing female and male athletes, but after studying the marketplace we realized that coverage of the sport was falling short and that’s why we created a dedicated channel focused on covering the sport 365 days a year. Ongoing positive feedback from the community including support from endemic cycling media for FloBikes has more than confirmed our belief that coverage of cycling was lacking in North America. We are committed to innovating and investing in the sport of cycling and there is so much more to be done. We have a very positive outlook into this category in the near future and are excited to bring all these events and new content to fans.

On new elements for Tour de France: In our first year of partnership with Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) and the Tour de France, which we will broadcast to fans exclusively in Canada in both English and French languages this year, FloSports will showcase a completely unique and exciting viewing experience curated specifically with cycling in mind. Our broadcast and content plans for this year’s race includes a comprehensive offering that will feature on-location reporting from expert cycling reporters, on-camera commentary and analysis from some of Canada’s most respected elite cyclists, dedicated studio shows hosted by FloBikes featuring special guests, live in-app watch parties hosted by prominent cycling journalists and athletes, and a brand new exclusive fantasy league that will be available to FloSports subscribers in both Canada and the United States.