German public channel ARD will again have live coverage of the Tour de France in 2015. According to a report in Spiegel Online, the official announcement will be given next week.

According to the German website, ARD sources have told that the channel has secured the broadcasting rights for two years and it will only have to pay less than five million euros to show the race live. By comparision, ARD and fellow public channel ZDF paid 20 million euros when they last had live broadcast from the Tour from 2009 to 2011. Since then, the two channels have skipped the race. At the moment, ZDF has no plans to change that decision.

As is now customary, the contract also includes a "doping" clause which allows ARD to stop their coverage if new doping cases emerge. For the 102nd edition of the race which begins in Utrecht on July 4, ARD have planned to show the race live from 16.00 until the end of the stage. As it has been the case for several years, German fans will also be able to watch the race on Eurosport.