Millions join SBS for a month of Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes action – SBS’s biggest sports celebration this year, the Tour de France (5-27 July) and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (26 July-3 August), attracted a Total TV Reach of 5.57 million, as 5.19 million viewers tuned in for the 21-day Tour de France and 1.8 million followed the nine-day Tour de France Femmes.
This included strong SBS On Demand audiences, with 18.1% and 14.8% of Tour De France and Tour De France Femme avec Zwift Total TV viewers choosing to watch via this platform.
(L) Ben O’Connor at the 2025 Tour de France, (R) Sarah Gigante at the 2025 Tour de France Femmes
SBS Sport leveraged high-profile commentary by retired cycling stars Caleb Ewan and Grace Brown and used its unique access to riders to produce innovative social content and provide audiences with 360-degree coverage from the heart of the action in France.
SBS grew its 2025 Tour de France third-party platform performance by 84% (94 million views) year on year, with a 99% increase (11.7 million views) for the Tour de France Femmes.
SBS Director of Sport, Ken Shipp, said:
“Each year we work hard to create new ways for fans to immerse themselves in the world’s greatest cycling races and, with back-to-back races, we now offer viewers a month-long festival of cycling, to which our audience is clearly responding.
“Our dedicated SBS team, both on camera and behind the scenes, has again delivered world-class coverage of a hugely complex event, enhancing the stunning performances and landscapes with unique insight about the riders and the race.”
SBS’s expert commentary team guided the massive audience through every thrilling moment of the two tours as they traversed France across four weeks, including two stage wins for Australians, one each for Ben O’Connor and Kaden Groves in the Tour de France, and Sarah Gigante’s gallant second on the Queen stage of the Tour de France Femmes.
Audience testimonials:
“My partner and I are non-cyclists (now couch peloton) who […] really enjoyed streaming cycling via SBS on Demand. Although we watch other cycling events on SBS apart from the tours, we are always happy when we hear the familiar voices of Matt and the team. Although commentators from other countries are good, the SBS team is outstanding.”
“Just a quick note to say Thank You and to Congratulate the entire SBS team especially the Commentators/Reporters who did an Outstanding job presenting BOTH the Men’s and Women’s racing. The combination of Professionalism, Civility, Excitement, Insights, special segments i.e. Plate de Tour, Interviews etc, made the broadcasts a MUST Watch every day. The Technical team also deserves a big Chapeau too. The quality of the broadcast video & audio given all the complexities was Outstanding too. Thanks Again!!!”
“Huge thank you for the TdF Femmes. […] Commentary was informed and it was a breath of fresh air to see the respect the commentators showed for each other, and amazing to see a mixed gender commentary team where the female voices weren’t talked over and marginalised. Bridie O’Donnell and Matt Keenan particularly made a fantastic pairing.”
“You have done a wonderful job this year with coverage of the TDF and TDF Femmes. Super job by commentating and complete coverage. Also really enjoyed the after-race coverage and the nightly recaps.”
Sources:
- Reach to Date Source: OzTAM VOZ data, When Watched 06/07/2025 – 10/08/2025, Total People, Reach (Broadcast 1 min and BVOD 15 secs), Includes all events with *2025 Tour de France* and *2025 Tour de France Femmes*. Total TV refers to Broadcast TV and BVOD
- Social Media Source: Sprout Social
Media Release – SBS
Link to SBS on Demand HERE
TV Central Cycling content HERE
Millions join SBS for a month of Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes action
