The 2019 Tour de France, the 106th edition of the iconic cycling race, was broadcast globally to an audience of over 3.5 billion viewers across all platforms. For consumers in the United Kingdom seeking to follow the event, the primary avenue for live coverage was through official broadcast partnerships and digital streaming services. While the provided source material focuses on a specific paid streaming pass offered by NBC Sports Gold for viewers in the United States, it also contains information about the broader broadcasting landscape and the availability of certain digital features. This article examines the available digital access options for the 2019 Tour de France, based solely on the information contained within the provided source documents.
The Tour de France 2019 took place from the 5th to the 27th of July, beginning in Brussels and culminating in Paris on the Champs-Élysées. The race featured a challenging mountain programme, with three finishes above 2,000 metres in altitude, at the Col du Tourmalet, Tignes, and Val Thorens. The winner was effectively determined on stage 20, which concluded with a mammoth final climb to Val Thorens. The event was broadcast in over 190 countries, underlining its global reach. For UK-based cycling enthusiasts, the availability of live coverage was primarily determined by the television broadcast rights held by the national broadcaster, the BBC, and its associated digital platforms.
The provided source data does not contain specific information regarding free-to-air live streaming options for UK viewers. The documents mention a "How to watch the Tour de France - free live streams from anywhere" article in a list of features, but no substantive details about the content of that article are provided in the source chunks. Therefore, based exclusively on the available information, no factual claims can be made about free live streaming services for UK viewers. The only detailed information about a streaming service pertains to a paid product.
NBC Sports Gold, a direct-to-consumer live streaming product owned by NBC Sports Digital, launched a "Cycling Pass" for the 2019-20 season. This pass was available for purchase at a cost of $54.99. The service was explicitly targeted at fans in the United States, providing access to premiere cycling races from July 2019 through April 2020. The pass included live, commercial-free, start-to-finish coverage of every stage of the 2019 Tour de France. Additional features associated with this pass are detailed in the source material.
For the 2019 Tour de France specifically, the NBC Sports Gold stream included access to a live GPS tracking map to follow riders’ progress, an enhanced interactive map for each stage, the ability to pause the video, full stage video replay, highlights, and short-form video clips. The platform also offered a substantial amount of bonus content. This included nearly 20 bonus hours of coverage for the Tour de France, as well as more than 30 hours of exclusive bonus HD video coverage during the event itself. Before the Tour, the service provided stage-by-stage descriptions and previews, breakdowns of top contenders, and full event replays of every stage of the 2018 Tour de France.
During the race, the platform offered live streaming video, full stage video replays including highlights, stage recaps, and rider interviews, as well as route and stage previews, course and stage maps, elevation profiles, and stage descriptions. A key feature was the GPS race tracking, which was presented in three ways: a list of rider groups on the road, a live profile of the stage, and a live map of the stage. The service also provided live stage results and detailed standings, rider profiles by country and team, and a news feed for each stage with minute-by-minute updates and real-time commentary. This data was organised into easy-to-use tabs on the platform, including "Feed" for news, "Track" for GPS, "Standings" for rider standings in every jersey category, "Teams" for comprehensive team and rider information, and "More" for additional data.
The NBC Sports Gold app was available on a range of devices, including Apple iOS, Android, Android TV, Apple TV V4, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and Chromecast. The pass could be purchased in advance of the 2019 Tour de France for $54.99 by visiting NBCSportsGold.com. It is important to note that this service was geographically restricted to viewers in the United States.
The source material does not provide information on any other free or paid digital streaming services for the 2019 Tour de France, nor does it detail any free samples, promotional offers, or no-cost product trials related to the event. The documents are primarily focused on race details, broadcast technology, and a specific US-based paid streaming pass. There is no mention of brand freebies, mail-in sample programmes, or any promotional offers from categories such as beauty, baby care, pet food, health, food & beverage, or household goods that are connected to the Tour de France 2019. The information available is strictly related to the broadcasting and digital coverage of the cycling event itself.
In summary, the provided source data offers detailed insight into a specific paid streaming service for US viewers but does not contain verifiable information about free streaming options for UK consumers or any associated promotional offers or free samples. The primary factual information concerns the features and cost of the NBC Sports Gold "Cycling Pass" and the general broadcast reach of the 2019 Tour de France.