Shocking news for cycle racing fans this week as the cost of watching televised bike racing has shot up from £6.99 to £30.99 a month. Will it kill cycle racing and what are the impacts of paywalls on niche sports like cycling. Are there any positives to take from this story?
Content
00:00 intro
00:53 Will it kill bike racing?
3:12 The impact on casual fans
4:54 Is there a solution?
5:46 A silver lining?
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35 Comments
Greed
It’s game over ,killed off by one word – Greed.
likewise cancelled my subscription yesterday . sad indeed what wbd are doing to our sport
I think it will stop a lot of 5 year olds getting into the sport. They'll have to take up something else instead that's free to view. Like coding…
I will be in France in July "at the side of the road" – I always supplemented this with Eurosport app and L'Equipe – hopefully my French language skills will improve because it will now be L'Equipe all the way 🚴♂🤞🌞🚴♂ £30 pm NO WAY
No thanks. I think I'll live not watching a bunch of dudes in Lycra riding their bikes
In my country,health and safety regulations have put organisers off holding races due to regulations and costs
😢
Gutted
Why are they doing it to UK and Ireland only? Price increase does not apply to 50+ countries.
Cancelled D+ sub yesterday – feel like I and the sport are being screwed so yet another big company can make more money. will still watch all the races i can, just elsewhere
Increased the price from £6.99 to £30.99! About 4.5X. So if 75% of people cancel they'll still make the same amount of revenue! Disgusting but more and more how the world works. Just focus on high income end and screw everyone else. I will be cancelling. I'll just watch Lanterne Rouge on Youtube for the best round up out there.
The reason the Warner Brothers gave is that bringing Eurosport into TNT Sports would bring cycling fan to other sports. He means sat at home watching sport and not actually taking part in other sports. Although he thinks Moto GP is a sport. We are living in a world of a health and chronic health crisis and obesity. How will encouraging people to sat on the couch for endless hours going to improve the general health. The moral I guess is that TV isn't unmissable but experiencing life is not. So just get out on your bikes and sod watching other people doing it on TV or laptop or the phone. Or do what I did recently and I actually when to Belgium to watch the Dune Cross at Koksijde on the 3/01/205. £15 for the ticket, £138 return Dover-Calais Ferry and £70.00 in fuel. As I did drive from Hull and back. Brilliant day and I amazing day. I would highly recommend it. And I got a free X2O Duckie Bobble Hat.
Cancelled my Discover+ yesterday. £31 a month is too much. I only watch cycling and I'm not interested in any of the other sports.
At least you can get something. We get f’k all in Australia. SBS is not showing every race before you start on that track…
Cancelled yesterday. I don't understand their move here. I don't see how this will be more profitable since everyone is cancelling.
Also remember this will also affect the MTB World Cup – something which has been overlooked by the predominantly road based cycling media…….
I've cancelled D+. Less watching a screen, more time for actual cycling.
Thanks for the video , I didn't know the price would be £30 , I have no interest in other sports just Cycling
Late stage capitalism wants to take you for everything you’ve got, and there’s nobody left to help.
You make a great point in the video. I grew up watching the TDF. It inspired me to ride bikes. How do we inspire this generation?
This will just push more people towards IPTV services.
No way would I pay £31 for TNT sports, thankfully I get in free from my employer- for now at least.
Here comes the dodgy firestick surge…
Thats what you deserve for Brexit 😀
In all european countries I can think of its in free tv, haha.
£370-ish is a lot to ask for a single sport. Of course you could only keep it active for spring and summer.
The irony is bike racing is finally accessible in the states.
The whole way cycling is run has been terrible for years. Funds not given to teams, sponsors come and go too quickly.
Now fans being rinsed by TV companies l.
Whole sport needs a bug shakeup, riders have more power than they realise, they need to firce changes
Once the wintersports season is over, I'll be cancelling.
Fine for me (with a vpn), not so much for my dad, aged 86. He'll never watch another bike race😢
Disgusting what Discovery are doing. Expecting people to pay £30.99 a month. It’s just Greed, and a complete ripoff. The majority of people can not afford to pay that to watch they sport the love. Unfortunately it’ll price out people and stop younger people getting in to the sport. My 6 year old loves to watch the bikes racing but I cannot justify the cost.
How are younger people supposed to be inspired to get in to sport if the powers that be keeping hiking the price up more and more.
It’s disgusting!!
End the @#$% ala carte prescription model and go back to streaming pay as you go. Reason most of us cut the cords a long time ago was to only pay what you actually really watch.
There will be no subscription from me, full stop. Luckily here in Sydney SBS covers a good chunk of the season, and that will have to do. The concern is that cycling will become more niche, then disappear from screeens, with only the big tours left.
What about MAX? Does have cycling in Europe, not sure for U.K.
In Australia we get free to air coverage on most of the classics, monuments and all grand tours on SBS (Special Broadcasting Station). The only major sport not free to air is association football (old man term) baseball and other American sports, although the NFL is free to air. Pretty lucky in this subscription age.
They want all the sport so they can charge what they want they think, it's like SKY in the 1990s.
I’ll just watch YouTube highlight