The return of Lance Armstrong to the Tour de France next summer is a winner for network executives at Versus.
The seven-time Tour champion officially announced his comeback attempt in a Vanity Fair magazine article posted Tuesday. Armstrong’s presence will almost certainly boost ratings for an event that has lost 175,000 average daily viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, since he rode off into the sunset after his final Tour victory in 2005.
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Armstrong’s retirement and a series of doping scandals contributed to the steep ratings decline in the United States. During his last Tour victory, Versus averaged 315,000 average daily viewers. That number dropped to 140,000 this summer. That’s bad news for the Comcast-owned network, which has used contracts with the Tour and the National Hockey League to build a brand identity.
Armstrong’s return also coincides with the first year of a new five-year contract between the Tour and Versus that runs through 2013. The network began airing the event in 2001.
