Bike (TV channel)

Television channel

Bike

Country| Italy
Broadcast area| Italy
United Kingdom
Programming
Language(s)| Italian
English
Picture format| 16:9 576i (SDTV)
Ownership
Owner| Filmedia
Bike Media UK Ltd.
History
Launched| 12 February 2013 (Italy)
10 December 2015 (United Kingdom)

Bike was a specialist sport television channel broadcasting on Sky Italia in Italy and Sky and Virgin in the United Kingdom.[1]

Bike Channel ceased airing in September 2017.

## History

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The channel launched in Italy on 12 February 2013 on Sky Italia.[2] After its successful launch in Italy, the channel began broadcasting in the United Kingdom on 10 December 2015.

In December 2016 it was announced that the channel would sponsor the new Bike Channel–Canyon cycling team for the 2017 season, with the channel broadcasting documentaries and "behind-the-scenes" content about the team.[3]

## Programming

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### Magazine programmes and highlights

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* Bicycle Diaries
* Bike at Mount Ventoux
* Footprints on the Ridge
* Italian Masters
* Incycle
* Freewheels
* Milan–San Remo road cycling
* Triathlon
* Il Lombardia
* The Book of Cross
* Cycling with Filippa
* UCI Supercross BMX Racing

### Live coverage

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The announcement of the channel's UK launch included details of the races the station would cover live, which included the Tour de Suisse, the Tour de Romandie and Gent–Wevelgem.[4] Other races broadcast on the channel include Dwars door Vlaanderen,[5] the Vuelta a Burgos,[6] the Tour of Utah,[7] the Giro del Trentino,[8] Brabantse Pijl,[9] Scheldeprijs,[10] Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Tour des Fjords and the Brussels Cycling Classic.[11] In July 2016 it was announced that BIKE would air live coverage of the 2016 Tour of Britain that September.[12]

## References

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1. ^ "New free-to-air Bike channel cycles into satellite homes". a516digital. 10 December 2015.
2. ^ "Bike Channel to launch on Sky Italia". Advanced Television. 7 February 2013.
3. ^ "Bike Channel and Canyon join forces for British-registered Continental team". cyclingnews.com. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
4. ^ "Bike channel to launch in the UK". Sky plc. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
5. ^ "Dwars door Vlaanderen". Bike (TV channel). Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
6. ^ "Vuelta a Burgos Preview". Bike (TV channel). 2 August 2016. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
7. ^ "Tour of Utah on BIKE". Bike (TV channel). 1 August 2016. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
8. ^ "Giro del Trentino". Bike (TV channel). Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
9. ^ "Brabantse Pijl". Bike (TV channel). Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
10. ^ "Scheldeprijs". Bike (TV channel). Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
11. ^ "2016 Media Pack" (PDF). Bike (TV channel). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
12. ^ "BIKE Channel secures Tour of Britain rights". www.a516digital.com. 27 July 2016.