UCI Cycling on Discovery TV moving from £6.99 to £30.99

I looked at switching my phone to ee as a way of getting the cycling. TNT now seems to be the add on option rather than discovery plus. However, the plans are so expensive compared with other providers that I’m fairly sure discovery are getting their £30!

I managed to get the £10 a month with a 43" 4K TV offer through my EE account, so I'm happy for now.  TNT for 24 months for £10  per month and a new TV for the garage Zwifting sessions.

I was able to just add the TNT sub to my existing Disco+ login.  Seems to give me complete access to everything on Disco+ (which isn't saying much as it's all bobbins). If EE keeps this offer going for the foreseeable future, then I'll have to start selling off unwanted TV's.!!

Worryingly, I read somewhere that WBD other streaming service HBO Max is being launched in the UK in 2026 and might mean that some or all sports get bumped to that service.! Not sure what happens with existing TNT subs if that happens, and no doubt the price will go up again. 🙁

Super easy to get US HBO Max sub in UK with a bit of Amazon US account and VPN magic.

Our Virgin package has booted Eurosport but 4 TNT channels have magically appeared. Ive asked the bread to check the costs / notifications as Im not allowed admin protocols. I assume the costs have gone up by default and you have to cancel.

Anybody watch the Ultimate cycling show? I thought Matt Stepens was good, but didn't think much to the two in the studio (or the green screen effects in the studio). (Nowhere near as good as ITV4's programmes).

Our Virgin package has booted Eurosport but 4 TNT channels have magically appeared. Ive asked the bread to check the costs / notifications as Im not allowed admin protocols. I assume the costs have gone up by default and you have to cancel.

Just checked and same here. 

TBH I can't be arsed stumping up to enable the TNT channels. 

I'll see what I can get on YT this year, and I think ITV still have highlights this summer don't they? 

Posted by: natrix

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Anybody watch the Ultimate cycling show? I thought Matt Stepens was good, but didn't think much to the two in the studio (or the green screen effects in the studio). (Nowhere near as good as ITV4's programmes).

Yes it was dreadful. I’m glad I was watching it from the recorder so I could skip bits.  The green screen was appallingly bad and the less said about the overly excitable female presenter the better. Hopefully it will improve when they have some racing to talk about.

Worryingly, I read somewhere that WBD other streaming service HBO Max is being launched in the UK in 2026 and might mean that some or all sports get bumped to that service.!

Last year our ISP (Orange) removed the HBO option and the demise of Eurosport player coincided, so taking up the offer of 15€ monthly for Max made about 2€ difference in our house expenditure. The app on the tv works better than the two previous ones it's replaced.

We get all the content previously streamed by Eurosport inc. the two channels for the time being. And it's Monday, so there's a new episode of The White Lotus to watch this evening.

Anybody watch the Ultimate cycling show? I thought Matt Stepens was good, but didn't think much to the two in the studio (or the green screen effects in the studio).

I have done my best to avoid the Orla Chennaoui show for several years and the move out of the basement at GCN to that horrendous CGI studio was the last straw. Matt is great though. GCN/Eurosport/Discovery+/TNT/Warner Bros. continue to have amateurish audio problems and some of the commentators are overdue retirement. Most of the ex-pros are pretty good though. I think it's a shame we no longer get Dan Lloyd.

I did catch the studio chat after the Omloop(s) and to my surprise I found Steve Cummings quite chatty (for Steve Cummings).

Well the move to EE TV and TNT+Sky has gone almost smoothly. Sadly they did not transfer the account details, and we can't activate the included Discovery+ subscription. And guess where the cycling catch-up lives? Not on the live TNT or the EE TV App... IT is "trying to fix it" so we can see out account and bills. If they don't resolve, we'll cancel and restart the process. Full Fibre is faster, but it was fast enough to stream already. So all I've managed to watch is a little live cycling. A start.

First time using a VPN for me but Sporza (VRT Max) worked fine on Apple TV for Omloop and Kuurne.

Paris-Nice highlights on ITV4 from Sunday evening 😎 

MvDP live after watching the ladies GP Le Samyn currently 🙂 

As well as the cycling, MotoGP is now only available on TNT. The live races have been there for a while, since BT Sports bought the rights, but ITV4 have been showing a reasonable 1 hour highlights programme for a few years now, but this year the free to air highlights are on Quest. Moto2 and Moto3 get a couple of minutes each but with no graphics so you get no feel for how the race is developing.  This does mean that you get more of the premier class although the sprint race coverage is a joke (I believe the sprint race is live on Quest so you could catch it that way). Gavin Emmett and Neil Hodgson on commentary, who do a decent enough job, with Suzi Perry as anchor. Picture quality is awful, as it often is on Quest - looks like a 3rd generation VHS copy. Also, as is often the case with Quest, they couldn't keep to time. Overall I preferred the ITV4 show, but I'm not as grumpy as I expected to be.

Well that race alone was worth the monthly fee.

Amazing 

Men's MSR was a fab finish but I think the women's popped it for a great finish!

Yeah that was a pretty special race.  

I had a Eurosport subscription/access in some format since about 1994 when our house got an early/cheap Sky package and IIRC Eurosport was free, as opposed to the actual Sky Sports options that followed.

That early Eurosport coverage of the "Grundigs" very much got me into mountainbiking, especially the world cup DH and dual slalom with Mark Biesiegel commentary. I was always more XC than the wild stuff but watching and following the Grundigs was a big part of my youth. Clearing out the family home I discovered a box of VHS tapes of... many hours of Eurosport mountainbike world cup coverage! Also a bunch of Dirt magazines and several of the UCI Mountainbike Guides (effectively the PR kit and rules+regs books, then became glossy mags in the Diesel days). I was the coolest person you never met 🤣 At some point I'll cap any of the VHS that still work and shove them online. Though I expect lots of it is actually tennis because in those days the MTB would always get bumped.

I'm a bit sad about the disappearance of the Eurosport brand in the UK market. Part of me wondered whether there's some pathetic Brexity-marketing-blazer-geezer binning it off because they find the word "Euro" offensive.

Since my hours of watching sport are finite and not expected to increase this season the price jump to £30p/m is just galling, when it feels like it is mostly subsidising some expensive football and Olympics broadcasting rights. Also I'm a MotoGP fan, because... Eurosport... so yet again I am taking a BT/TNT/Discovery beating. The re-vamped MTB World Cup coverage over the last couple of seasons has been really good to be fair and I have been making time to watch that on-demand. But my sport-watching hours were always restricted and I'd never catch anything live so terrestrial highlights of TdF etc was good enough. I always enjoyed the winter sports coverage too so my Eurosport Player and Discovery+ at around a pint per month was fair value. (Cycling and MotoGP I have been following via some specialist "recording" sites for many years so I expect I will continue in that vein).

Perhaps I am just getting older and £30p/m in this day and age is reasonable, considering you don't get much change from £30 on one round of 5 pints in the pub! Anyway, not sure what my point is with this ramble, other than perhaps I am close to talking myself into buying TNT Sport since it basically has the MotoGP, UCI cycling and winter sports stuff that I'm interested in. Sigh.

I am interested in the business model behind their decision. Surely putting the price up that much will cause a load of people to cancel?

To be honest, from a marketing perspective the folks that 'do' cycling (especially road cycling) are a perfect demographic, generally men, generally well-off, middle aged, passionate about the sport, not really interested in other sports packages - Cyclists aren't generally team/ball sports fans. Give them what they probably don't know they want, all their races in one place with one sub especially all the big three, and the spring classics - which, in the past, have been all over the place. mountain biking is being 'forced' into adopting the same team model, I think partially to make it easier to grasp - if you understand how the road cycling world organises itself for the occasional viewer - mostly of the Olympic event (because some of the roadie men do it), DH's just an afterthought.

I don't think mountain bikers per se are the target audience - look at this website and the comparative disinterest in both XC and DH, there's barely a thread about racing even in season let alone out of season, and I don't think that's that uncommon, most of the MTBers I know, aren't really bothered past a passing interest.

I'd bet the hard core roadies are paying for it though, and in comparison to MTBers, there's loads more of them than there are of us.  

I've fully embraced the VPN. Really enjoyed the races on Saturday, and learnt a few words of Italian. Will be brushing up on my Flemish over the coming weeks.

Miss the option of just flicking on the telly and catching up with the highlights of some random race, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I pay those American leeches.

Posted by: wait4me

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I've fully embraced the VPN

What site do you then use to actually watch the coverage?

I am still iin cold turkey, so to speak.

The first big road race of the year not seen was a bit if a wrench but i went out for a walk instead.

I would have probably watched it in the evening having recorded it though.

I missed that the highlights were on ITV4..

So will find that,thanks for the tip on that.

Maybe we need a " watch cycling here thread!"

I kept do keep defaulting  to see "whats sports on what highlights  are they showing  (on Eurospory!).but thats fading.

Can i resist not subscribing before Paris Roubaix?

Will Itv have itv highlights?

I know stuff does cost money but the rest of the TNT stuff does not really interest me.

The fancy studio etc is reporting is good , but not essential for watching the live racing.

Maybe a 2 tier membership is an option for them to keep viewers.

A basic membership for live coverage.

I have been reading more already.

Yes proper books!

Have plans to work building my woodstock up over the summer..

I am just  one person who (may) be able to move on and take a step back  i feel for the industry, the young GB pro and semi pro riders who i currently know the names of and watching their progress.

Come on TNT give us a basic package.

.

BBob, I've been trying a few. SBS in Australia was great for Paris Nice but a bit jittery at the weekend so I switched to RAI in Italy. Sporza in Belgium works well too 

I missed that the highlights were on ITV4..

So will find that,thanks for the tip on that.

There doesn't seem to be any info on what other races ITV4 will be covering but at a guess I would say TdF and Tour of Britain. Maybe the Dauphine.

Maybe a 2 tier membership is an option for them to keep viewers.

A fair system to me would be a menu of items you can add to your list. The more you pick, the bigger the discount. But when was "fair" ever a thing in American business models.

Posted by: aggs

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I am just  one person who (may) be able to move on and take a step back  i feel for the industry, the young GB pro and semi pro riders who i currently know the names of and watching their progress.

I watched the 5 minute highlight package of Milan San Remo on Youtube

That's me no longer seeing all the adverts during the broadcast, the countless mentions of the team sponsors etc. Across an entire potential audience, that has to impact on sponsors, advertisers etc. I think will be the ultimate decider on coverage. If companies feel they're not getting a return on the money they spend on advertising, they'll pull their business from TNT

Posted by: BoardinBob

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If companies feel they're not getting a return on the money they spend on advertising, they'll pull their business from TNT

Completely agree. However a few upset mountain bikers in the Uk probably doesn’t even register in the stats

There doesn't seem to be any info on what other races ITV4 will be covering but at a guess I would say TdF and Tour of Britain. Maybe the Dauphine.

Gary Imlach mentioned at the end of the Paris-Nice coverage the other week that they're back next for the Dauphine, with a 'see you in June'.

It's sad to think that even this relatively threadbare coverage will disappear after the Tour in July; fingers crossed that the Tour of Britain is kept on for this year at least.

I hate to keep saying it, but honestly, if you've not seen the racing from the weekend, todays finish was BRILLIANT as well.. So entertaining. I know it's £31 (or £20) a month, but honestly if you love a bit of road racing, you've got to pay it 

if you've not seen the racing from the weekend, todays finish was BRILLIANT as well.

PPV Boxing on two wheels.

If you subscribe to Sky Sports, then going EE internet, cheap TNT plus added on NowTV Sport is cost effective and about the same as previous internet plus NowTV plus old D+ rate.

Posted by: weeksy

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if you love a bit of road racing, you've got to pay it 

You really dont

My monthly sky subscription is £30 and that included Eurosport. 

Theres no way I'm doubling my monthly cost unfortunately 

It'll be a VPN and one of these foreign channels via the internet

Posted by: chrismac

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Completely agree. However a few upset mountain bikers in the Uk probably doesn’t even register in the stats

I'm not sure how scientific this Cycling Weekly survey was (i'm guessing not that scientific) - but that's quite a big number of people not moving over to TNT. 

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/i-just-cant-justify-this-only-2-5-percent-of-cycling-fans-vow-to-pay-tnt-sports-price-hike-after-eurosport-closure

For those wondering FloSports Canada via VPN have an annual sub that works out about £13 a month and it’s in English. 

honestly if you love a bit of road racing, you've got to pay it 

Tiz not true

honestly if you love a bit of road racing, you've got to pay it 

Meh, there's always highlights of stuff on YT 

Posted by: cookeaa

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honestly if you love a bit of road racing, you've got to pay it 

Meh, there's always highlights of stuff on YT 

 

I get that but we're honestly in a stage of cycling that is second to none, with riders from everywhere doing insane things, from Pidcock winning XC and road to VdP and Pogacar going nuts against eachother. It's a form of cycling i've not seen in my years of watching and i'm not prepared to miss it for the sake of £20 a month. I'd rather go without food for a day than miss the cycling.  a clip on YT or a crappy feed from a random VPN, nah it's not for me. There's many things i'd do without before i miss this racing.

I'm not sure how scientific this Cycling Weekly survey was (i'm guessing not that scientific)

I'm sure it's not gonna be appearing in any scientific journals, but I'm also sure that it's spot on.

honestly if you love a bit of road racing, you've got to pay it 

What if you quite enjoy it now and then, but can take it or leave it these days if you'd have to pay a fortune for a slightly shit service?

Like I said, some deals from EE mean I’m paying less than I was with BT internet (I was on an old and expensive tariff), but they bundle TNT and Sky Sports. And @weeksy is right, this is an unprecedented time for racing. 

honestly if you love a bit of road racing, you've got to pay it 

I'm happy to pay to watch road cycling. I don't really want to pay for all the other stuff I have no interest in.

Posted by: slowoldman

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honestly if you love a bit of road racing, you've got to pay it 

I'm happy to pay to watch road cycling. I don't really want to pay for all the other stuff I have no interest in.

Then think of the cost as being just for cycling lol.

Using a vpn and watching on sbs is easy. 
£2.40per month , set it to Aussie, just plug your laptop in or cast to your tv. 
coverage is good. Nothing dodgy about it. 

I get that but we're honestly in a stage of cycling that is second to none, with riders from everywhere doing insane things, from Pidcock winning XC and road to VdP and Pogacar going nuts against eachother. It's a form of cycling i've not seen in my years of watching and i'm not prepared to miss it for the sake of £20 a month. I'd rather go without food for a day than miss the cycling.  a clip on YT or a crappy feed from a random VPN, nah it's not for me. There's many things i'd do without before i miss this racing.

As someone who only watched the downhill (not interested in road cycling at all) I'm not paying £31/month out of my pip/disability to only have a few hours of downhill racing I want to watch per month. 

I get where you're coming from Weeksy, but honestly as much as I enjoy watching competitive cycling it's not worth the outlay, to me at least. 

Live road cycling, grand tours and classics? When it was FTA I'd stick it on in the background, saunter back and fourth, watch if something interesting was going on and try to be sat there for the end of a stage, but very seldom would my routine allow for even that. Sitting through a full stage? Not a chance... 

CX I'd record it and either watch it on a quiet Sunday morning or find the 30 min highlights. Love it but I can find highlights on YT if I want to see CX now. 

DH? I seldom have a whole weekend to dedicate to anything, much less sitting down to watch the current format. I'll take highlights after the event again cheers. 

XCO? Again not got the time to invest, XCC? now that is a format I could squeeze in, but again I don't have to watch it live. 

I just think WBD have just got the pricing and proposition wrong, I could maybe justify adding (yet another) £5 sub for a few months of the year, but £30? Not a chance. And I'm another one not bothered about their other bundled content, so it would be a sub to cover me as the only interested person in the household watching cycling...

GCN+ demonstrated that there was a market for a paid cycling content platform, that included ad-break free live coverage of stuff that could be found FTA elsewhere, but the pricing needed to be keen. WBD have hoovered up the rights to all sorts of cycling, but seems to think they've bought something far more valuable like WendyBall or F1 than the fans/pubs will stump up for. I don't think they have, time will tell I suppose. 

I just think WBD have just got the pricing and proposition wrong, I could maybe justify adding (yet another) £5 sub for a few months of the year, but £30? Not a chance.

This is it in a nutshell.

I strongly suspect they will come back with a more realistic proposition next year, having learned their lesson.

But until then I'll have to resort to nefarious means to watch the DH.

I strongly suspect they will come back with a more realistic proposition next year, having learned their lesson.

I don't think WBD will. They're happier with 1 person watching on TNT than 4 on Eurosport - and have probably kept that fraction. It will only change if forced by the UCI who (hopefully) don't want viewing figures for cycling decimated. But WBD are signed up until 2030 (I think) so what pressure can the UCI bring on them?

I don't think WBD will. They're happier with 1 person watching on TNT than 4 on Eurosport - and have probably kept that fraction. It will only change if forced by the UCI who (hopefully) don't want viewing figures for cycling decimated. But WBD are signed up until 2030 (I think) so what pressure can the UCI bring on them?

Never mind the UCI, they piled in on this deal, the confirmation bias is going to be strong with them. 

I'd wait to see how satisfied the likes of ASO are by the number of eyeballs (Globally) on the TDF this year. 

Very late to this years coverage but just finished watching the ITV4 coverage of Paris - Nice and then had to settle for a 6min highlight video of MSR from TNT. 

I've never wanted to watch a full stage, I find the 60min evening slot on ITV4 perfect for daily viewing and getting a good view of the breakaways and some pre and post content, the 6min video for MSR did show some early moments and had good coverage, but I would have watched it if it was 10 x longer, but I guess that video wouldn't be popular on YT! 

TdF still with ITV isn't it, final year?

I'm tempted to give a try for the classics, just as an easy way to quickly catch up on an evening. In the meantime experiment with a few other options and work out if I feel it's worth it.

So long as there's no minimum term so I can bail when the road season fizzles out... 

I've been using a combination of TNT's own 5-6 min highlights videos on Youtube and skipping through Tiz cycling full stage replays so far with pretty good success. The short TNT highlights have actually been pretty good for keeping up with the most notable bits of  action without subjecting my partner to hour after hour of cycling.

For those in Belgium, E3 Saxo Classic is streaming live on VTMGo, Belgian TV channel platform. I just need to brush up on my Flemish. Though the clips from last year they are showing now have Carton Kirby commentating. 

I may of got lucky but when i opted to cancel it popped up with a £15 a month offer, which after a bit of too and fro with discovery is all up and running. To me that price point feel reasonable and from my perspective worth it for Strade Bianca  and last 30km Milan San Remo

Posted by: chakaping

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I strongly suspect they will come back with a more realistic proposition next year, having learned their lesson.

 

They won't if many on here KEEP justifying it and paying!!! 🤬🤬🤬🤣

On no other purchase would you think quadrupling the price (or at the least doubling on a deal) isn't utterly taking the piss.