Gravity Media, a global leader in production and content and media services and facilities, today confirmed a four-year partnership extension with the South Australian Tourism Commission following a comprehensive tender process to deliver Australian and international all-screens coverage of the Santos Tour Down Under.
The four-year extension will see Gravity Media continue to deliver broadcast production for the biggest cycling race in the southern hemisphere, which it has done for the past five years.
All-screens coverage will capture the world’s best men and women cycling teams and riders competing across the stunning South Australian landscape in the opening calendar event in the UCI World Tour, a series of races in partnership with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) including the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana.
Gravity Media will create, produce, and deliver more than 50 hours of live coverage to 190 territories worldwide. This sits alongside a daily highlights package for domestic and international audiences, overall event highlights, daily VNRs, and short form highlights optimised for digital platforms.
Beyond this role, Gravity Media will also continue to work with the Seven Network to produce the complete broadcast production of the Santos Tour Down Under in January utilising Gravity Media’s SNG fleet together with mobile cellular and cloud-based technologies linked to its Production Centre in Sydney.
The extensive production undertaking incorporates a high-definition outside broadcast truck and satellite units, a multi-camera camera setup including on-board “chase” motorcycles, aerial coverage with a helicopter camera, drones, specialty miniature cameras in team cars, and cameras to capture the peloton in super slow-motion, plus a dedicated crew of 130 to cover the Santos Tour Down Under onsite in South Australia and remotely from the Production Centre in Sydney.
Mike Purcell, Head of Production at Gravity Media in Australia, commented:
“Gravity Media is proud to continue to work alongside the Santos Tour Down Under. Our partnership with the South Australian Tourism Commission goes from strength to strength, and together we’re delivering world-class and continuously innovative coverage of the opening event on the UCI calendar.
“It’s a privilege to showcase South Australia and this iconic race to audiences across Australia and around the globe.”
This project highlights Gravity Media’s continued involvement with the world’s most iconic cycling events following its delivery of the Tour de France & Giro d’Italia.
The Santos Tour Down Under returns in 2027 featuring nine competitive stages in total, split into a six-stage men’s race (19–24 January) and a three-stage women’s race (22–24 January) running concurrently over the final weekend and the longest men’s (874km) and women’s (397.3km) races in the event’s history. It is a world first that an UCI WorldTour event will have the men’s and women’s fields race on the exact same course, on the exact same day, and over the exact same distance.