Write to ASO pointing out the error of their ways. Ch4/ITV provided coverage when it was a niche interest, but giving it exclusively to Eurosport is going to lose a lot of viewers and hurt interest in the sport. They'll be back to niche interest and no free to air coverage before they know it. They should look at the example of how cricket suffered in general when it removed a lot of coverage from free to air.
That's a real shame, great highlights. Eurosport doesn't come close.
Ch4/ITV provided coverage when it was a niche interest
On the contrary, CH4 viewing figures were around 1M back in the days of only 4 channels; it's a struggle to get even half of that as far as I'm aware.
I'd wager that there are far more Slovenians watching than Brits, for example.
So lets say you're a retrogrouch technophobe tightwad who does not subscribe to any paid-for services, as they barely watch film or tv ever, the only satellite things they're aware of are in orbit- what would be the cheapest way to continue watching LeTour? Am thinking.... free trial of Amazon Prime then take out a July only subscription to discovery+ ? Watched through smart TV or Xbox...would that work? Or is there another way?
Gutted like everyone else. As already said, the highlights ITV put out are really good, actually highlights with some other good stuff on slow days rather than the end of the race that Eurosport do 🙁
Will also miss Gary's sarcasm!
So lets say you’re a retrogrouch technophobe tightwad who does not subscribe to any paid-for services, as they barely watch film or tv ever, the only satellite things they’re aware of are in orbit- what would be the cheapest way to continue watching LeTour? Am thinking…. free trial of Amazon Prime then take out a July only subscription to discovery+ ? Watched through smart TV or Xbox…would that work? Or is there another way?
Monthly subscription to Eurosport via their web app and cancel once it's over?
I have no interest in road racing at all.
I don’t understand the tactics.
I only know the names of about 4 riders in the grand tours.
BUT
I could happily watch every second of the tdf as its shown on itv4.
I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something about the combination of the scenery, commentary and crowds that makes it wonderful.
That actually sums up a lot of Tour viewers. Everyone watches the Tour in the same way that everyone sits there and watches horse dancing in the Olympics cos everyone watches the Olympics. If you put horse-dancing on TV on its own or on a paywalled channel, it'd get 4 viewers, 2 of whom thought that the weather would be on next.
If you put horse dancing on as part of the Olympics, twelvty million people watch it, none of them having the slightest clue WTF is going on but just kind of enjoying the general spectacle and going with the flow.
Hell, even my Mum watches the Tour - my Mum can, with difficulty, distinguish the front end of the bike from the back end and the only rider she ever knew was Mario Cipollini cos he had a "funny name" (her words) and Phil Liggett used to shout it a lot in the days when he was winning! But she'll watch the Tour, at least having it on in the background so she can look at the scenery and the chateaux.
WB/Discovery/ASO are going to find out the hard way that the Tour isn't as big as they think.
I can see the rationale for their decision, but I can't believe the figures will work out. Pro cycling isn't yet a major league sport, despite the ASO thinking it is.
Monthly subscription to Eurosport via their web app and cancel once it’s over?
Thanks, and is that an app that works on a common smart TV or only on desktop/ tablet?
Cripes, am so OldSkool...
It’s a shame so much sport is slowly going behind paywalls.
meh, at least now I can spend more time riding my own bike rather than sat on my arse watching someone else ride theirs!!
the Tour isn’t as big as they think.
I thought there was some niche statistic that if you took live spectator numbers it is by far the biggest sporting event in the world... no idea how that translates to worldwide tv viewing stats.
Bloody hell that shit - even though I have Eurosport, I never watch the Eurosport TdF
Whats more I am sure it will have a massive impact on Sales revenue in the UK cycling industry. More people are out on the roads during and after the TdF.
Someone needs to start standing up for TV rights in the UK. No DH mtb and the biggest road biking race on the planet will effect the UK bike industry
@crazy-legs are the organisers of things like the tour of Britain worried about the impact this will have?
meh, at least now I can spend more time riding my own bike rather than sat on my arse watching someone else ride theirs!!
haha, yea it's always a challenge in July to make sure I get on the bike and out the door before the coverage starts
Thanks, and is that an app that works on a common smart TV or only on desktop/ tablet?
Cripes, am so OldSkool…
It's now part of Discovery+ so you sign up for that at £6.99, if you have an app for discovery+ on your TV then it'll work via that otherwise laptops/phone/tablet
It’s now part of Discovery+ so you sign up for that at £6.99,
Eurosport and Discovery + are currently part of standard Sky subscriptions, even if the Discovery interface is absolutely shockingly bad
It’s as good as it’s going to get, but it’s not the global behemoth it could be.
I think anyone who genuinely believes that elite cycling is every going to be a 'global behemoth' is slightly deluded. Grand Tour racing in particular is a bit like test cricket in that it takes ages - a lot of the time it's actually quite dull - and the detail of tactics etc is complicated. Plus the Tour de France dwarfs ever other event.
And if this season's anything to go by, there's a reasonable chance that the next few years are going to consist of Pogacar riding off the front of the peloton to victory at varying points. Without jeopardy, sport tends to get dull.
I thought there was some niche statistic that if you took live spectator numbers it is by far the biggest sporting event in the world
the trouble is, the TDF is a business like most big sporting events, and hordes of people turning up at the side of the road for free isn't making them any money! A quick google suggest the whole TDF brings in (a lot) less money total than just the broadcast revenue Man City receives each year for their televised games. They are a tiny business in the grand scheme of things. I can't see this paying off tbh.
a tragedy
Holy Hyperbole!
Meh, ITV only picked up the rights because C4 dropped them didn't they?
It's just sports broadcasting Eurosport are fine, ITV are OK, does it really matter so long as it's on some free to view channel?
It's a tragedy for me. Genuinely one of my very, very few "must watch" programmes a year.
The highlights programme is so good that, come evenings in July, my fiancee - who has zero interest in watching any other sport except gymnastics - will be the one putting the TV on and tuning to ITV4 before I do.
does it really matter so long as it’s on some free to view channel?
It's not - or won't be - that's partly the point people are making.
It’s just sports broadcasting Eurosport are fine, ITV are OK, does it really matter so long as it’s on some free to view channel?
Like politicians not knowing the price of milk or bread, not knowing you're paying for eurosport via some TV package is unforgivably Bougie!
?
I think anyone who genuinely believes that elite cycling is every going to be a ‘global behemoth’ is slightly deluded.
OK, maybe slightly hyperbolic, but it's still a strangely European (mainland) sporting obsession. The UK's always been on the fringes of that, and the rest of the world doesn't seem to care.
Evidenced by most of the sponsors being very Euro-centric. Rather than the Chinese betting firms that have taken over football shirts.
Unfortunately not Meh for me - Eurosport coverage is basically shit. From Sean Kelly to the computer generated 'newsroom'.
But who knows - maybe they'll up their game.
Discovery+/Eurosport is so cheap it's virtually free. £6.99/month (and no yearly sub) is a bit of a bargain IMO.
Can't vouch for their cycling coverage as I've not watched it, but their coverage of WEC/LeMans is excellent.
That's a massive downer. Really enjoyed watching the show for three weeks over the summer (and some of their other race coverage) and far prefer it to Eurosport. The show also got the rest of my family into cycling (mainly thanks to Gary Imlach and his infinite collection of John Smedley tops, and Chris Boardman). sigh. I guess we'll wait and see whether Ned, Dave and Gary pop up elsewhere.
Gutted
I will most likely be subbing to D+ again next summer for the DH (and moaning about the commentary etc. obvs), but I really dunno if I'll bother with the TdF highlights on there.
Like the DH, it should be a golden era for the sport - but we're lumbered with second-rate coverage.
Like the DH, it should be a golden era for the sport – but we’re lumbered with second-rate coverage.
Other than the fact that Eurosport have every minute of every day's racing of almost every major cycle race, plus decent coverage of quite a few smaller races that the people who only watch ITV4's highlights have never heard of, AND cyclocross, yes, it is rubbish!
So, not having Eurosport, and only having a NotVerySmart smartTv (that won't take the app) - the options seem to be a month subs to Disco+ on an Ipad or console.... I'd happily pay 6.99 to watch LeTour... I'm not paying £70per month for 637 things I have no interest in.
Or do that thing you always wanted to do, sell-up/ downsize - buy a camper van and go full dutch following the Tour through the Alps riding am: then lazy afternoons camped-up at the side of some col- deckchairs, beer, sun, fancy dress....
.
Eurosport and Discovery + are currently part of standard Sky esubscriptions, even if the Discovery interface is absolutely shockingly bad
Can someone clear this up for me. I've got Eurosport via my sky subscription but a week or so back when Il Lombardia wasn't showing live on ES I registered for Discovery+, but they wanted an extra sub to view. Am I missing something or is it the case that I need to elbow Eurosport and pay for Discovery instead?
Seems a bit shortsighted to me. The whole business model of cycling revolves around sponsorship and a huge chunk of those sponsors get most of their value from getting their logo in front of eyes on the tour. Fewer people watching the tour makes the entire sport less valuable, and I can’t see WBD increasing the viewership from behind a paywall.
The whole business model of cycling revolves around sponsorship and a huge chunk of those sponsors get most of their value from getting their logo in front of eyes on the tour. Fewer people watching the tour makes the entire sport less valuable, and I can’t see WBD increasing the viewership from behind a paywall.
Yep. Putting niche sports behind a paywall is a really bad idea because your market shrinks to the people who are already invested / interested enough to watch.
One of the main reasons that the Tour eclipses both the Giro and the Vuelta is that it is on free-to-air TV in so many countries. As a result, it's the one GT that everyone goes for, the one that everyone knows.
Cycling became huge in America when Lance was winning* the Tour. If he'd have done the same in the Giro and/or the Vuelta, no-one would have noticed.
*I'm parking the obvious debate as to whether he actually "won" anything...
Like politicians not knowing the price of milk or bread, not knowing you’re paying for eurosport via some TV package is unforgivably Bougie!
Perhaps, but I get it included with Virgin, others seem to get it with Sky, I'm surprised it's not available down towards the bottom of the Freeview channels (honestly not looked).
Of course if all people want are the days highlights for the TDF there's always YouTube...
Meanwhile:
The BBC and ITV are members but it doesn't look as though all members of EBU are covered in this deal.
Arse. Not happy with the dropping of the ITV4 highlight package.
I wonder whether Pete Kennaugh had advance knowledge of this as he announced he wouldn't be part of the ITV4 team next year anyway, and has been a bit vague of why/what he's doing instead.... (*Wink*)
The Bardet/on a ragga tip outro will never be betterred.
FYI the tour de it’s the biggest annual sporting event in the world by live spectators and tv viewers. The Olympics and World cup are bigger but not annual
This. ITV4’s highlights show was a highlight (sorry…) in itself, it wasn’t just the last 30km of the race replayed. It had history, geology, scenery and architecture, behind-the-scenes racing news, interviews, race analysis…
I watched one stage on itv 4 last tour. I think i was at my dads. I was surprised how little cycling the hour contained. I think we spent a lot of time looking at a macaron shop. Having grown up with the itv and channel 4 coverage i was a but disappointed. Ned and David are still the best commentary team though. I do of course mourn the passing of more free to air cycling
If you do end up, like me, on Discovery + here is a tip. Watch the live show with chat. If you press the up arrow on your remote you can jump to attacks, accidents, sprints, cols, interviews and the last 20km. Thus making your own highlight show
If you do end up, like me, on Discovery + here is a tip. Watch the live show with chat.
Whatever you do choose the coverage that doesn't include the Breakaway. It's banal bollocks. The alternative stream shows more pre and post coverage from the start and finish venues.
To quote another program … diary contains 1 word …. Bugger.
It's not been my go to for a while, why would I pick it over Orla?
FYI: Eurosport have a cycling-specific channel on YouTube which seems to have most race highlights for free BUT, maddeningly, they are forever putting spoilers in either the video title, the description, the thumbnail or an adjacent video...
I'm hoping that ITV (or BBC or Channel 4?) can still put together a decent highlights package using the expediting production company/team in a similar way to Channel 4s agreement with Sky in F1....?
Can anyone attending Ned's show (or follows him on Twitter?) ask him for comment and report back?
I’m with @didn’t hurt
I think my all time top pundit was Dannie Christmas. Although that might have been Tour de France Femme
