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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
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.
They won't if many on here KEEP justifying it and paying!!! 🤬🤬🤬🤣
Well, apparently some are willing to go without food if it means Warner Brothers can continue to get their dues.
However, given the fact this particular person spends tens of thousands per year so his family can go racing I somehow doubt anyone is likely to suffer malnutrition over this.
Still, it is nice to see racing dads are as tone deaf and out of touch as they were when I was hanging around the paddock. At least some things never change.
Bwahahahaha. Nice fella, real nice.
I am going to miss it but I almost never watched it live, because living my life is more important than watching others ride.
What would be nice is if a local bar showed the racing and we could meet up and watch it together. No doubt I'd be too busy to go though, plus if I started drinking for the ladies race I wouldn't remember the mens 😉
Price now £37 a month due to Trump's tarriff plans. VPN and Australian stream it is then.
EDIT Helps if the link is included!
Did you notice the quote from Robin Phans at TNT? Very relevant I thought...
lol on April 1st ?
Price now £37 a month due to Trump's tarriff plans. VPN and Australian stream it is then.
EDIT Helps if the link is included!
Did you check the date?
I know its April 1st, is it just me or is it a risky april fools joke given they're quoting commercial price hikes for an actual company's existing (and brand new) product on their front page, seems a little defamatory?!
I know its April 1st, is it just me or is it a risky april fools joke given they're quoting commercial price hikes for an actual company's existing (and brand new) product on their front page, seems a little defamatory?!
It's not defamatory, or really libellous (which would be more relevant for media), but you're right it is unusual to do an AF bit about a specific commercial offering without the provider being in on the "joke".
In this case, I reckon they just think that WBD deserve it and **** em.
@nbt Yes and read the article too hence the edit about forgetting the link!!
Petition to
Make the Tour de France a Category A event so it is free-to-air
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/716157
Interesting discussion between Ed Masters and Nigel Page on his podcast about the changes to coverage.
They're of the view that random punters are not going to stumble on the coverage on TNT and suddenly become fans, certainly not at any meaningful level, and the changes WBD have made to the coverage has massively alienated their core audience. They also feel as organisers, Chris Ball and his team are far too thinly spread across multiple disciplines
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ejLixjKlvGlNaoDhN1UdQ?si=igv29280TDy48A8pOUqNxQ
I have Discovery+ free as part of a Sky promotion from a while ago so I thought - having seen articles that I could stream cycling on TNT *or* Discovery+ - that I could watch it. Alas no, as soon as I click on the cycling stream on Discovery+, it tells me I need to add TNT Sports.
Anyway on the My Sky app, I looked at adding it in and it told me that I'd have to cancel my subscription with another provider in order to avoid being billed twice.
The only possible provider it could be is EE (who I get my mobile and broadband from) but it's not on that app. There's nothing else going out of my account that could relate to additional TV purchases. So I have no idea.
Other than I absolutely hate all this sodding app-for-everything nonsense, multiple subscriptions with multiple providers and no clear info. I can well understand how older folk in particular end up paying out huge sums of money on "auto-renewed" subscriptions they don't even know about, trial periods that have rolled over into regular monthly payments etc.
Watching Flanders live on Youtube, it has English commentary, German adverts and Eritrean text commentary - big up for Biniam Girmay!
I've just watched via "a website" that gets obliquely referenced on this thread - reckon it was the eurosprt/WBD commentary. No ads. No pause or rewind option but a solid stream
SBS (Australia) showed it from start to finish. Perfect stream.
SBS (Australia) showed it from start to finish. Perfect stream.
Do you know if they do highlights?
SBS (Australia) showed it from start to finish. Perfect stream.
Do you know if they do highlights?
Yes, they do.
https://www.sbs.com.au/sport/topic/cycling
well today was worth the subscription. will need to cut down on hours! @crazy-legs we’ve gone the other way. added TNT Sport EE internet and sky sports onto that at £10 extra. had to change to a new sky login and TNT/D+ get a login from EE account too. can also add netflix and amazon prime through EE. could make those subscriptions simpler. i closed D+ and NOWTV Sport.
For anyone with an Firestick and 'in' Australia you can download the SBS app from https://xdaforums.com/t/sbs-on-demand.4159317/. Search for instructions on how to install APKs on a firestick.
I've used that to watch Flanders on catch up today.
My top tip: install the Fire TV app on your phone to get text like that URL and passwords to your TV.
Is there any advantage to using the SBS app as opposed to just using a web browser?
I use Express VPN on my Pixel phone and W11 laptop.
On my phone, ExpressVPN includes an ad blocker which SBS detects and blocks me from using the phone's browser (and I can't find a way to disable the ad blocker...)
On my laptop, however, I can disable the ad blocker when ExpressVPN is running, and I can stream the races ok using Firefox (though at 720 resolution max only)
I think the advantage is that you can just fire it up on the firestick and have it on the TV without messing around with other devices. Amazon doesn't let you download it unless you're in Australia, and because your location is tied in with your account, being on a VPN doesn't cut it, so it needs sideloaded instead.
@vlad_the_invader As butcher says it's so I can watch on my TV.
Cheers guys - what is the best resolution you can get on the Firestick, before I dive down a rabbit hole about side-loading on a Firestick (I've done side loading on phones and tablets before, but not a Firestick!)
FloSports Canada annual sub works out at £11 per month. Gives same coverage as TNT.
@vlad_the_invader It's 720p max on the firestick too. Looks fine to me though even on a full size (55") TV.
Cheers @sl2000. I'll probably stick with laptop/browser as it's semi-permanently hooked up to my TV anyway. And I don't fancy trying messing around trying to side load stuff onto my Firestick though it might have been worth it for a 4k feed....
Highlights look pretty good on SBS tbf..... may have found a solution to the TNT2 decision. Tho I guess they release the highlights at some weird time due to time differences.
Think I might have persuaded them to put the men's race on the big screen in the Windsor and Eton brewpub if anyone wants to 'accidentally' drag the family past for a quick pint 😎
D'oh!!! They're showing bloody Itzulia instead 😭😭
@vlad_the_invader Getting 1080p for PR
Decent length summaries/highlights for both Womens and Mens Paris Roubaix on SBS. 👍
On Saturday morning I was able to use Tunnelbear VPN to view SBS but when I tried to watch the racing it said I was not in Australia and content was unavailable. I saw some on France 3 but obviously French commentary so less than ideal. Any suggestions for how to watch SBS in future? Different VPN? It needs to be simple.
I used NordVPN, connected to Australia endpoint and watched fine.
What type of device/computer were you using?
I was using ExpressVPN on my Windows 10 laptop and Firefox browser and I was able to watch OK. ExpressVPN have various servers in Australia and I found using the Perth server was better (less buffering) then the Melbourne server. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to connect so be patient...
So if Tunnelbear have more than one Australian server, I suggest trying them all to see which ones work/which are better....
Will try NordVPN then
I love watching all types of racing from road to downhill and the rest, but also loved Eurosport for the weird and wonderful sports like speed climbing you'd just stumble upon and watch
But £30 is too steep. to put it into context, £30 was my share of four of us on the ferry and we rode Paris Roubaix sportive, finished watch the women follow us into the velodrome, then camped and watched the men race the next day from 3 different sectors of pave.. Total cost all in for the weekend £185, rather do that every 3-4 months than pay to subsidise footballs TV rights
than pay to subsidise footballs TV rights
You wouldn't be, the Footy people are subsidising the cycling !!!
You wouldn't be, the Footy people are subsidising the cycling !!!
But we're all paying the same.
So if we are not subsiding football, how much does Football make from TV rights, compared to cycling? It is my understanding cycling teams nor event organisers get any TV rights money?
It is my understanding football teams get a hell of a lot of money from TV rights, but maybe i am wrong...
Not looking great for TNT sports.....
https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2025/04/28/tnt-sports-loses-increase/
Not sure what the implications will be but changes are afoot...
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jun/09/warner-bros-discovery-breakup-cnn-hbo
The group will separateWarner Bros, the DC Studios comic book franchise, its Max streaming service and HBO, the premium cable network behind hit series including The Last Of Us, Game of Thrones and Succession, away from its other linear TV networks, which include CNN, Discovery and free-to-air channels across Europe.
So I assume sports will sit in the latter grouping, as it's still delivered via Discovery+ anyway. And it makes sense to separate movies and TV from news, sports etc.
Maybe we could get Pedro Pascal doing the commentary for the DH though. Couldn't be any worse, eh?
I still maintain the current UK cycling offering is ridiculously ambitious and unrealistic, and that someone will see sense and amend it for next year.
It is my understanding football teams get a hell of a lot of money from TV rights, but maybe i am wrong...
That’s not quite my understanding but I could be wrong . I think the TV money goes to the tournament/ league and then the tournament / league pay the clubs
I know that a Welsh football club got a 1 off payment from UEFA of approx £7m for making it in to European football
I actually don’t blame the TV companies in all of this, I think all the cycling governing bodies have been doing a shocking job of looking after its own interest and letting it be the pawn of TV.
not really up to speed on the convo, but i was sat at home a bit bored on the weekend (currently nursing a broken leg) and thought f-it, i wanna watch the DH. Paid my 30 odd quid subscription and enjoyed the race. Yes its a few quid, but its a sport i love and was thoroughly entertaining.
Also my buddies will come over for the next round, so its a social event too.
I will cancel it once the season is over. i'd prefer to pay less, but it is what it is.
i was sat at home a bit bored on the weekend (currently nursing a broken leg) and thought f-it, i wanna watch the DH. Paid my 30 odd quid subscription and enjoyed the race. Yes its a few quid, but its a sport i love and was thoroughly entertaining.
Plus, on the weekend, they showed the XCO, XCC men and women, the Criterium de Dauphine and a road race from Belgium. But people want to pay the same for their viewing as they pay for a pint of beer and expect that to be sustainable.
But people want to pay the same for their viewing as they pay for a pint of beer and expect that to be sustainable.
Was there any evidence that GCN wasn't sustainable?
And if there was, was there any evidence that it would only have been sustainable if they increased the price by a factor of 5?
Also, it does seem to be sustainable for Netflix, Disney etc.
I think the think that rubs people up the wrong way is we were promised choice in this streaming age. But increasingly higher monthly subs come bundled with 90% of stuff you'll never watch.
Anyway, on the subject of who is subsidising who, I think it's worth remembering that much of the price increase is down to the massive debt WB took on for the merger. I don't think any sport is necessarily subsidising any other.
More just that everyone is having to subsidise the WB shareholders due to the stupid merger decisions.
https://www.adambowie.com/blog/2023/11/gcn-closing-down/
It’s not just TNT Sport struggling
Sky sports has recently been offered for free to new customers. Existing customers can get it for £20. In theory ‘full price’ is £30
Looks like the whole Warner Discovery thing will change eventually as the merger is unwinding:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jun/09/warner-bros-discovery-breakup-cnn-hbo
I naively thought the way I watched the DH last year via my sky box and the discovery app would work, but then for the first race, found it behind the TNT paywall, so went and did something else to spend my afternoon with no intention of watching the highlights as I like the full show and seeing full runs and how it unfolds, plus social media will tell me who won.
Races 2 and 3 were on when I've been out, before I'd have not checked any social media and watched the replay, but chatting to friends who've done the same, when you watch the replay, the timeline bar for DH shows you when the winning run was, essentially removing the drama of is the time good enough to stay in the hot seat or will anyone beat it.
Now its been 3 races I've not watched and have now lost interest in the DH and actually unfollowed a few racers too, I've also not watched a cathro vision, vital raw or wyn tv this year where as I would watch everything that came out before.
Its not that I've lost interest in bikes, I've still been riding and consuming other media, I guess I am that classic example of if you put something behind a paywall, people either commit or stop, sure I cant be the only one!
I used to watch WEC on Discovery+ - I now pay to watch direct on the WEC app.
Take LeMans this weekend - £31 if you wanted watch on TNT Sports for a months access - against £16 for a LeMans weekend pass, or £43 for the remainder of the WEC season.
Or if you're not fussed about watching live WEC post full race replays on YouTube for free...
https://www.youtube.com/@FIAWEC/videos
This is exciting, I'm in a minority at last! I renegotiated my Virgin media deal back in February and got 18 months of TNT added for free. I'm actually watching more cycling now than I ever did. I've never watched DH or XC racing before but with the extra fixed cameras and those drone shots... Wow!
Still love my road racing for the drama and tactics but I'm really enjoying the mountain biking, even if I need to watch it from behind the sofa as it's so scary.
C.
I guess I am that classic example of if you put something behind a paywall, people either commit or stop, sure I cant be the only one!
There was a bit of discussion about the low attendance figures at the Silverstone MotoGP, which came after a record breaking attendance at the Le Mans round. MotoGP coverage has been behind a paywall in the UK for 12 years now, and we are now seeing the result. People stop watching it on TV, and eventually you don't have enough fans left to attend the actual races.
There was a bit of discussion about the low attendance figures at the Silverstone MotoGP, which came after a record breaking attendance at the Le Mans round. MotoGP coverage has been behind a paywall in the UK for 12 years now, and we are now seeing the result. People stop watching it on TV, and eventually you don't have enough fans left to attend the actual races.
I think the issue is that many sports now seem to be aiming themselves at people who watch 'sport' in general rather than people who are interested in a sport.
Various high up people in mountain biking have been pretty clear that their target audience is people who are looking for something to watch between MotoGP and the football and the hope is that DH will be that thing that holds their attention long enough for the football to start.
I like cycling and that's it. I used to follow rugby but since they started buggering around with paywalls I've pretty much given up on that. Cycling is what I do so it's what I like to watch.
GCN+ was the perfect solution for me. I could watch the stuff that I really wanted to watch and if I wanted something to have on in the background while I was working on the bikes then there was always a race or film I could stick on.
Every sport seems to be targeting general sport watchers now rather than people who like one particular sport.
Sadly we (ie, people who like bikes) just aren't the target audience anymore.
Just a handy reminder for anyone wincing at the full price.
Pick a country from here that has MTBWS TV listed.
https://ucimtbworldseries.com/watch
VPN to a said country and go to https://watch.ucimtbworldseries.com
Sign up to watch for between five and six quid a month.
I've not really missed it. I would have watched the Giro, XCO and classics had I still had discovery. Certainly the cafe chat has changed. Less people know what's going on in the various races than last year. So I'd agree, people have just found other things to do.
Sporting events/series/races whatever costs a huge amount of money to put on, I've 'resigned' myself to the fact that if I want to watch the sport I'm interested in, I have to pay for an entry ticket. It was pretty easy for me to decide that I'd rather watch cycling events than Netflix, so that's what I did.
Hilarious that they've announced a night Enduro at La Thuile
Comments along the lines of we can't watch it anyway so it may as well be in the dark😂
“People stop watching it on TV, and eventually you don't have enough fans left to attend the actual races.“
I think, regarding Moto GP, there was more to it than that, not least that it was moved from its usual slot in August to May, but the price of tickets being the main reason, it was mentioned in commentary.
Greed.
For years, Suzi Perry et al on Eurosport, BT Sport and now TNT have harped on about Moto GP being great because it’s not Formula 1, and yet with Liberty Media taking over control that’s precisely the circus they want to turn it into. Investment will be ‘flooding in’ and guess what chaps, they’ll all want a return on that investment
‘As of 2025, Liberty Media is set to own three global motorsport businesses in the form of Formula One, Grand Prix motorcycle racing and World Superbikes’. Great.
Races 2 and 3 were on when I've been out, before I'd have not checked any social media and watched the replay, but chatting to friends who've done the same, when you watch the replay, the timeline bar for DH shows you when the winning run was, essentially removing the drama of is the time good enough to stay in the hot seat or will anyone beat it.
Thankfully that seems to have changed for Leogang. I understand wanting people to be able to quickly navigate on a replay but just timestamp start, top 20, top 10 & top 5 starters or something, not the podium runs (and crashes)!
I'd not be watching if TNT wasn't a free add-on to my phone contract. Much like every other sport I just don't see the value in it at £30/m and I don't use TNT for much else other than the odd footy game I happen to be around for. Also not helped by them not having an app for my TV platform.
I suspect or maybe just hope that the golden era of gouging UK residents for sports channels is coming to an end, and we'll finally be able to get individual sports coverage / pricing, or free to air if we are really lucky.
Would be great, but the costs involved in broadcasting all these sports isn't small, so unlikely to happen any time soon.
No idea, I don't watch any of this...but I'm aware that filming and broadcasting all this costs an absolute fortune, so you need many people paying to cover the costs and even more people paying to make a profit.
My Netflix subscription is £18.99 a month. If TNT charged similar, I’d be on board with that. For the time being, I watch road cycling on SBS, watch XCC & XCO highlights on YouTube and don’t bother with DH.
This weekend I’m using the FIAWEC app to watch Le Mans for £15. If I could watch a weekend of MTB for that sort of money I’d be happy.
the costs involved in broadcasting all these sports isn't small, so unlikely to happen any time soon
Freecaster and Red bull somehow managed to broadcast it for free for years. I'm assuming they weren't doing it out of the goodness of their own heart
Red Bull used it as marketing...spent a fortune on it, used it as marketing and made a far bigger fortune off their product sales - that is well known, it was also well known that it was done to market their product.
It made more sense for them to do it than it does for a broadcasting company to do it in terms of advertising opportunities.
I suspect £6.99 a month was enough to support a product that only showed cycling like GCN+. However, the new model is not for people who just like cycling. It's for general sport fans so the only option is to pay for every sport. If you want to watch every sport then £30 is probably reasonable.
However, people who just like to watch sport I suspect don't really do sports. We watch cycling because we like bikes. I have time to cycle and to watch some races. I have no interest in watching any other sports.
Like I said earlier, with GCN+ we were the target audience. With WBD their target audience isn't us. It's people who like to watch sport in general.