The figures are staggering and immediately reveal the facts of the problem.
The Tour de France usually has 3.5 billion viewers, 12 million roadside spectators and 80 channels broadcasting the event in 190 countries.
The benefits are substantial for ASO, the organizing company of the event, and its revenues break down as follows: 60% from TV rights, 30% from partners and 10% from communities.
That was before.
Because the coronavirus has been there.
He postponed the competition by two months, after the summer vacation, in the middle of the school year and above all gave it a general facelift.
“The observation is very simple, explains Laurent Lachaux, sales director responsible for partnerships at ASO.
This Covid crisis changed the world so it would have been surprising that we were not impacted.
Some of our partners have been hit hard.
Like Logis hotels, for example, which have not rented a room for a long time.
We had to make financial efforts in relation to them.
"
The caravan melted from 180 to 100 vehicles engaged
The caravan melted.
The vehicles entered have gone from 180 to 100. And the entire itinerant procession which follows the peloton for three weeks, from 5000 people to 3500. Three sponsors left the event but they were replaced.
“It's a Tour that will cost us money,” explains Laurent Lachaux.
It will be a difficult year, we had to retract what was planned for July because costs had already been incurred.
We had to pay for the sanitary bubble
(Editor's note: the tests, the masks and the 25 people planned to enforce the measures)
.
We do our rounds but it was vital that the Tour take place for the economy of cycling.
"
If the sponsors have stayed, they know that the exposure of this particular Tour is less favorable for them.
“We have halved the number of our invited partners,” emphasizes José Messer, marketing manager of AG2R.
You can't show them much.
What appeals to partners is seeing the riders up close and talking to the team bosses before the start.
So this year we're really trying to be imaginative.
In the village, we installed a video link on our stand with a GoPro camera placed in front of the bus.
Vincent Lavenu
(Editor's note: the manager)
sometimes comes to greet the guests through this device.
It's better than nothing.
"
