Conference noted::bicycle

2228.0. "1992 Tour de France" by LJOHUB::CRITZ () Thu Apr 02 1992 10:52

     Live Tour TV for U.S.



     (Copied, without permission, from VeloNews Volume 21, Number 5, Page

     37)



          "Beginning with the 1992 event, the Tour de France wil be seen

          live on U.S.  television, for the first time ever.  The Fox

          television network has reached an agreement with the Societe du

          Tour de France to broadcast all 21 stages as they happen, from

          start to finish."



     There's more to the article, but I'm not going to type it all in.

     Some other snippets though:



           o  "Taking their cue from auto-racing broadcasts, Fox engineers

              hope to equip at least a few racers' bicycles with onboard

              cameras, as well as rig some riders with microphones, in

              order to give the viewers an `in the saddle' perspective."



           o  "...sources said that Perry [Luke Perry of Beverly Hills

              90210, RSC] is likely to anchor the broadcasts, teamed with

              renowed English cycling commentator Phil Liggett.  A third

              personality will be added to the team, and it wil probably be

              Keenen Ivory Wayans, the host of Fox's `In Living Color'

              comedy series, who is also a USCF Cat.  V-licensed racer."



           o  "Jean-Marie LeBlanc, the tour's director, said he si thrille

              with the Fox agreement, as he is a ig gan of `Les Simpsons,'

              which is fast becoming one of France's most popular foreign

              TV programs.  Leblanc also confirmed that the Fox deal will

              include sponsorship of the leader's yellow jersey, replacing

              Credit Lyonnais.  The sponsorship change means that the

              stuffed toy lions - traditionally presented to stage winners

              by Credit Lyonnais - will be supplanted by Bart Simpson

              dolls, dressed in cycling togs."





     Well, I like the idea of live coverage, if it's done well.  We'll have

     to see, of course.  I'll have to think about the Bart Simpson dolls.





     Scott

    re .1
    
    It was the bit about Phil Liggett being renowned that gave it away.
    Though of course I mean no disrespect to Mister Liggett who is
    surely a very wonderful person (that's enough grovelling, -Ed)
    
    ---Alan

    Was that in the APril 1 issue?
    
    ed

    	Ed,
    
    	Yes
    
    	Scott

    	Over in the CYCLE_RACING notesfile, Mr. Hemmings has
    	suggested that I take the prize (TBD) for my note
    	(there) and reply (here) about the FOX coverage of the
    	1992 Tour de France.
    
    	If, in this notesfile, I also win a prize (TBD), I
    	will accept it with the same grace and decorum that I've
    	shown during past, prize-winning, ceremonies.
    
    	Thank you for your support.
    
    	Scott
    
    	8-)>

    I suppose that the quality and quantity of grace and decorum
    are also TBD after you see the TBD prize.
    
    :-)
    
    ed

    	ed,
    
    	Too true.
    
    	Scott (TBD)

    
    Re: Phil Ligget
    
    	I used to hate, no *loath* Phil Ligget, then I started listening to
    David Duffield on Eurosport. God, how I long to hear Ligget's voice
    again! As an example on how bad Duffield is, he saw that one of the pro
    teams was using a Citroen XM as their service car and proceeded to tell
    us how good his XM was. BORING!!!
    
    Graham.