Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) is set to become the exclusive British broadcaster for the Tour de France from 2026 onwards, with live free-to-air coverage of the race in the UK likely to end.

WBD currently owns partial rights to screen the men’s and women’s events, sharing coverage on its ­Eurosport channel with the ­terrestrial ITV4, but has agreed a big-money exclusivity deal with the race’s organisers. It means Le Tour will not be shown live on ­British ­terrestrial television for the first time since the 1980s.

ITV will show the 2025 race live, the 25th successive and final time the broadcaster will be able to do so after first acquiring the rights from Channel 4 in 2001. The WBD deal runs from 2026 to 2030. WBD, which also owns TNT Sports as well as HBO, CNN and others, continue to invest heavily in sports broadcasting.

Trojan Paillot, head of sports rights acquisitions at WBD, believes the new broadcast deal proves the company’s long-term commitment to cycling. He said: “For many years, we have been trusted to act as the custodian for cycling and have worked tirelessly to maximise the opportunities fans have to engage with their favourite sport.

“Our commitment to cycling has seen us invest in the most comprehensive live rights portfolio, which includes every men’s and women’s Grand Tour race, and we’re delighted to now extend our relationship with our partners at ASO [Amaury Sport Organisation, which runs the tour] and EBU [European Broadcasting Union] to take us into a fifth decade of covering the world’s greatest races including the Tour de France.”

ITV declined to comment when approached by the Guardian on Friday. But Matt Rendell, part of ITV’s presenting team for the Tour posted on X: “I guess you’ll have heard the news, that 2025 is to be ITV’s last Tour de France. Surprised (no free-to-air for London 2027??). Slightly in shock.”

In September, British Cycling ­confirmed talks over the Tour’s Grand Départ returning to the UK in 2027.

“No Gary [Imlach] presenting the Tour,” added Rendell. “Hard to believe. Not just Gary: lots of other people are synonymous with Channel 4/ITV’s coverage. Speaking personally, I’ve had a good run. Still, there’s that heady feeling of muted panic over income that became familiar during Covid. I’ll try and put it off until August 2025.”