MTB World Cup broadcast rights go to Discovery from 2023

Well I guess having all that great Redbull coverage completely free was too good to last

Wonder if it will end up on GCN+ alongside the road racing coverage?

I can stomach a pay service because I have really enjoyed Red Bull’s coverage but……are they going to pick up the current commentary team? Rob Warner would be a hard act to follow in my eyes. Plus all the other stuff around the Red Bull coverage, are people like Ben Cathro going to be cut out? In short I fear change 🙁

Suppose I’d better get some beers in the fridge ready to enjoy this years coverage just in case Discovery bugger it up for the following eight

Plus all the other stuff around the Red Bull coverage, are people like Ben Cathro going to be cut out?

Cathro is part of the Pinkbike coverage.

But yes, won't be the same if they don't pick up Warner & co.

are people like Ben Cathro going to be cut out?

Cathro either predicted this or got lucky - he's on pinkbike now; Racing, team managing, team coaching, and video making. I dont know if thats going to mean some of the previous format videos are goingto be cut 🙁

Who has GCN+, is it any good?

Yes but I think even before he joined Pink Bike Ben Cathro had some hassle over access as Red Bull had the rights.  My concern is that Discovery will be more protective of their investment

I suppose it could be a positive for world cup racing if this means there is enough money to maybe have a 10 race series and attract more outside sponsors so riders can earn a bit more but that might be a bit naive of me to think that's where the cash will end up .

The question for me is how much am I willing to pay to watch would cup downhill ? I don't have an interest in road racing or cyclo x so if the world cups are only available through discovery plus would i pay 7 quid a month to watch 6 or 7 races . I suppose you could cancel over the winter so maybe 35 to watch the season 🤔  doesn't sound to bad .

My concern is that Discovery will be more protective of their investment

If they are forking out cash the cost may partially get passed on to 3rd parties like PB.. so we could see their coverage end up behind the Outside paywall.

I'm gutted about this as I've been watching and enjoying it for years. If it's PPV they'll lose 90% of the audience. Not everyone wants a dozen different subscriptions coming out of their bank account every month.

Hard to know what it means really - Eurosport is now part of Discovery, I believe.. . the Winter Olympics were all on Eurosport 1 & 2 and also something called Discovery+ (guessing a streaming app), so I would've thought it would be the same as that. Will find out next year, I suppose.

(similar story here about a tennis tournament, the last paragraph saying it'll be on Eurosport on TV - https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2021/09/16/discovery-sports-acquires-10-year-rights-to-laver-cup/ )

Not everyone wants a dozen different subscriptions coming out of their bank account every month.

OMG, Me too so boring, so expensive.

That's another sport I'll not be watching then. I'm a bloody cheapskate so I can do without same as I've done without F1 since Sky took it from Channel 4. There'll inevitably be highlights on youtube anyway.

Who has GCN+, is it any good?

Lots of road races live
Some of the features are quality

It could be great but the whole experience is hit and miss. Examples: race highlight programs are rubbish; cross world champs bizarrely had no commentary; sometimes the app just will not stream what you want, especially live streams; there is a smart tv app but for some reason the content is different to the smartphone app, and it has streaming problems; and so on......

its great to have on in the background if you wfh

MTB will be a good addition

It could be great but the whole experience is hit and miss. Examples: race highlight programs are rubbish; cross world champs bizarrely had no commentary; sometimes the app just will not stream what you want, especially live streams; there is a smart tv app but for some reason the content is different to the smartphone app, and it has streaming problems; and so on…

All true, with some caveats. Highlight quality varies by race, dependent on what they can show. Some are good, some pretty poor. The cross worlds had two streams on the app, one with commentary, one without (the one with was the "includes live show" version). The app can be a bit flaky and they've definitely had capacity issues in the past with popular races or the finishes suffering from buffering and delays. It's got a bit better over time I think.

The documentaries are generally well made, there's a lot on there but mainly road/gravel/adventure rather than MTB. If I was only an MTB fan I'm not sure there's enough current content to keep me interested.

Should sit nicely with other Discovery Plus highlights such as 'Ghost Adventures', 'Worst Cooks in America', 'Extreme Makeover - Home Edition' and '90-day Fiancé'. 🙂

I believe there is an offer where you can have a year's free Discovery+ if you have Sky Q, if that's any use to anyone. Also something if you've got a Vodafone account.

https://www.capitalmatters.co.uk/posts/discovery-plus-deals-trials

Whether that includes sport is another matter.

Pretty disappointed by this. DH is pretty much the only sport I watch nowadays.

I will strongly consider subscribing to continue watching it, but it really needs to be done at least to the standard that RedBull currently provide. That definitely includes the commentary team.

GCN+ is this a streaming thing or TV channel? Lot's of crossover nowadays I'm sure but I'm a bit out of the picture...

TLDR: I don't have a TV, will I be able to watch it on my PC like now with Red Bull? I shall be severely miffed if not.

Sky Q customers can currently get 12 months of disovery+ for "free":
https://www.sky.com/pages/vip/discovery+

I'll reserve my judgement but I can't see it being free to air. Red bull spends money for marketing and branding purposes, whereas discovery are just a broadcasting company and I can't see them airing their content for free.

Gutted if it is PPV. I like others don't want an endless number of subs going out each month just so I can watch one show/event.
Will it have loads of annoying adverts too?! Never watched Discovery.
Really like the Red Bull TV app and watching the DH on there. It's the only live sport I watch now.

You'd think people would have realised now how bad for a sports overall development putting it's professional level behind a paywall is. Hopefully we might see more Hardline type events in response.

You’d think people would have realised now how bad for a sports overall development putting it’s professional level behind a paywall is. Hopefully we might see more Hardline type events in response.

someone on the pink site suggested redbull could start their own race series.

How long have redbull had it now? I remember freecaster before when Rob Warner was a little less guarded as to what he would say with the guests in the commentary booth, it was bloody hilarious. I hope it doesn't go another step towards beige sensibilities.

Personally I never thought that redbull really got it right, but equally they never ****ed it up either. So I think it can be done better, but it could also be done a lot worse so fingers crossed.

You’d think people would have realised now how bad for a sports overall development putting it’s professional level behind a paywall is.

Especially for a sport that is largely funded by bike companies promoting their bikes. How much money does the Discovery deal give the teams, will it compensate for the lack of visibility they get compared to what they had on red bull.

I've watched a few crankworx dh races is the past with Andrew Neethling doing the commentary, whilst he knows the sport inside out its just not the same without Rob Warner. Hopefully someone at Discovery will recognise this but I doubt I'd subscribe if the DH was the only time I'd watch it, and definitely wouldn't if they go with a different commentary team

I remember freecaster before when Rob Warner was a little less guarded as to what he would say with the guests in the commentary booth

Redbull TV would've been in trouble if they'd broadcast some of the jokes Warner came out with in the freecaster days

I remember freecaster before when Rob Warner was a little less guarded as to what he would say with the guests in the commentary booth, it was bloody hilarious

Thanks for that.ive been trying for ages to remember who the Belgian outfit were that had it before RedBull

Oh well, that's me not watching it in '23...... Not paying £60/year just to watch a limited season.
Better make the most of Warner & RBTV this year.

Perhaps Red Bull can pick up the EWS coverage?

Discovery already bought the rights to the EWS coverage last year.

Is that World wide or is it time for a VPN?

GMBN will launch a paid-for racing channel with Warner the anchorman.

Real shame that. Hope Warner is still involved.

Just finishing my years free trial of Discovery plus through Sky Q. Had an email today from them to say is now free to sky q customers but will have some adverts.

Happy with that.

How can anyone care about DH when discovery has amazing stuff like this to keep you entertained
Jack Osbourne watches paranormal videos with his famous - and skeptical - parents in 
The Osbournes Want To Believe

How can anyone care about DH when discovery has amazing stuff like

Mythbusters.  2023 DH will be run on a conveyor belt

I remember when it was on eurosport with that numpty who couldn't pronounce Nicolas vouilloz' name, I can't see discovery getting the vibe right or giving Rob Warner a job. Its gonna suck and cost money, double whammy.

IIRC discovery bought the GMBN etc channels last year and also now own the EWS series. Pretty sure will be PPV but hopefully some free stuff on their YouTube channels? All biking stuff in one place now.

I can't see how this can be good news. Excellent coverage, production, and free to air. How can they beat that? I just can't. The best cycling coverage of any discipline is the MTB World Cup. Go and compare a CX World Cup to a MTB World Cup - it's like night and day. The only time the CX World Cup coverage was any good was the part season Red Bull had it in 2019/20 - and it was the same as the MTB coverage.

Since then it's reverted to type, with commentary from a studio in the UK - How is that better?

I struggle to see any good coming from this. My only hope is that Discovery have plans to increase the number of rounds, and exposure for sponsors, etc
9 is a small number of rounds for an Elite sport - no wonder there's very few big money sponsors in MTB (apart from Mercedes-Benz) this may be one of the things Discovery are hoping to change.

Personally I never thought that redbull really got it right, but equally they never **** it up either. So I think it can be done better, but it could also be done a lot worse so fingers crossed.

Agreed. The comments on Pinkbike would suggest it's an absolute disaster. Personally I think Red Bull coverage was well overdue a shake up.

Best case scenario would be some more cameras (no more riders appearing a minute into their run with no idea what has happened!) but continuing to be free to view on Youtube. A GMBN+ or similar seems more likely in my opinion, with EWS and DH footage both behind the same paywall it would look like better value than paying for DH alone.

Warner has really proven himself as a commentator and he does more than just DH for Red Bull. If I was buying the coverage I'd be pulling out the stops to get him.
Claudio should have gone years ago, his previews were funny but he is a clueless commentator. Tracey and Elliot have been welcome additions but both are replacable - I like the idea of that co-commentator rotating regularly, also providing the track preview.

I guess it'll end up on Discovery+ At £4 a month it's not the end of the world I suppose, especially as it's not an annual Sub. If it was happening this year, you'd need to spend about £12 to see the whole season, including Worlds, if they show it.

Let just hope they build on what RedBull have done and not use more mainstream commentators, I'm sure we all remember the horrors of listening to non-MTB commentators in the past.

Best case scenario would be some more cameras (no more riders appearing a minute into their run with no idea what has happened!) but continuing to be free to view on Youtube.

I'll be honest, if there are a few more cameras and they bother to show more than a handful of the field (women's especially) it would be a significant improvement. I like Warner but he's no more irreplaceable than anyone else, that isn't too say they could get a replacement spectacularly wrong mind but I'd even be willing to accept James bloody Corden as commentator if the trade off was ten more cameras on each race.

But if there were more cameras further up the course there would have to be larger gaps between riders, thus probably less riders televised or even qualified. I'm not sure that's the shakeup people are hoping for.

Grim news and this will be the end of the Red Bull presentational Vibe which I enjoy for the MTB sport

but Free or paywall? - EWS highlights are free on GMBN youtube so who knows. Likely to be mashed in with GMBN/GCN channel and subscription though with more commentary work for Rik Mclaughlin (can't see Rob Warner fitting in with the GCN/GMBC studio-based culture.) Nightmare if they follow the GCN presentational format with substandard commentary - just look at Cyclo-Cross racing coverage and you may even get Marty McDonald commentating on XC which will be a disaster - remember GCN did cover some XCO racing coverage in 2019 covering some of the Swiss Cup rounds (free on Youtube).

Will there be more rounds of either XCO or DH? As Discovery are organizing it themselves this might be more than they can cope with at first unless they get another organisation to do the donkey work such as Flanders Classics (Belgian based race organisation responsible for expanding CX world cup coverage) or TDF/Vuelta organisers ASO.

can’t see Rob Warner fitting in with the GCN/GMBC studio-based culture

The GMBN Dirt Shed Show started with Martyn Ashton and Rob Warner as hosts IIRC

No, please, keep Flanders Classics, or ASO away from MTB racing. MTB racing has it's own unique culture, we don't want that ruined by people from the road.....and I say that as somebody who watches, and is a fan of road racing.

Flanders Classics has the CX World Cup, and it jumped to 16 rounds which was far too many - they were just chasing the money - and a lot of venues couldn't make it pay, and some have pulled out for next season.

someone on the pink site suggested redbull could start their own race series.

It's almost touching how naive some of them are.

The UCI DH WC series isn't going to be supplanted anytime soon and any RB-led alternative would be a sideshow - albeit perhaps a really good sideshow if they were to team up with Crankworx, for example.

Eurosport know how to do live sports and will certainly be keen to retain the current commentary team, they may even take on the existing production team if that's logistically feasible.

My concern would be what kind of show they try to put on around the live action. Will it just be an abrupt live feed as we get for most road cycling, or will they retain and develop the preview & post-race content?

they were just chasing the money

Well yes. It's a business, not a charity. They might have got it wrong but no-one is in it (edit: at that level) for anything other than the money.

Well yes. It’s a business, not a charity. They might have got it wrong but no-one is in it (edit: at that level) for anything other than the money.

Of course they're in it for the money but there's always the question of short term gain that will result in long term decline. Cricket and Rugby League are good examples of this.

Agreed. If there isn't much reason to disrupt the current formula, why would you?
I couldn't see them replacing Tracey or Elliott, who are both very media friendly. As for Rob Warner, he's DH's equivalent to Murray Walker. He won't be going anywhere.

Of course they’re in it for the money but there’s always the question of short term gain that will result in long term decline

But one isn't an inevitable result of the other. Companies and people get things wrong all the time, they get them right too.
It's rarely in a companies interest to sacrifice the mid term in favour of the short. Investors want to see % year on year every year, it's very unusual they're happy with tiny or negative growth this year despite they may have seen 50% last year.

Discovery will want to see increasing return on their investment, year on year on year, sometimes they screw it up but they'd much rather the sport continued to grow every year for the next 8 (or however long they think they can hold the rights for) than ballooned tomorrow, held steady for 5 years then died slowly over the final three of their contract.

The improvement under RB has been mentioned above, do you think that's because "they understand the fans" or because that's what they need to do to keep shareholders happy?

Me, I think it's the later and they'd have taken the DCC approach to track surfacing if they thought it would give them 3% a year for the next decade.

Don't get me wrong discovery might kill it deader than what ever is in @andrewreay cellar but it won't be "for the money" it'll just be incompetence.

I subscribe to Eurosport which I think is part of Discovery, same feed as gcn. Cycling in summer then Biathlon and alpine sports in winter. Live and catch up videos. They already cover cx and mtb world cup races so it is a pretty good service.
Has been very stable this last year. Much of the cycling is ad free.
List of sports they cover is huge from snooker and tennis through to triathlon and formula e. Don't have a smart tv so we throw it to the tv via a chromecast.

The improvement under RB has been mentioned above, do you think that’s because “they understand the fans”

I don't think RB have a particular rapport with the fans, but their commentary team do - and they sometimes draft in people like Tahnee or Reece Wilson to contribute alongside their generic interviewers.

I really don't know if DH will benefit from being on a wider, more mainstream, platform or suffer from being behind a paywall.

We don't even know if Discovery plan to put it behind a paywall TBH, but I have no real objection and part of me thinks it'd be good for the entitled little shitbags of Pinkbike (and some here) to realise that sometimes you have to pay for content.

part of me thinks it’d be good for the entitled little shitbags of Pinkbike (and some here) to realise that sometimes you have to pay for content.

You pay regardless so don't go thinking anyone is getting anything for free.

I don't pay however many thousand a year for Sky so won't be getting it "free" and another subscription isn't going to fly, especially since I may not actually be able to watch the content thanks to work or general life commitments.

And to pre-empt the first numpty that comes out with the usual "price of a couple of pints" nonsense - bugger off.

You pay regardless so don’t go thinking anyone is getting anything for free.

Not really.

If it's "free" content, someone pays for sure, whether you or I pay for it is a different matter entirely.

Yeah, it's many years since I drunk a Red Bull.

Obviously, otherwise you'd be chakaWing

How will they cover the sport? Will it be better? It's hard to improve on what Red Bull do already.
Live from the venue, with reporters, a proper preview, and track walks, the races, and post race show.

Compare to a CX World Cup on GCN/Eurosport; they have tended to be studio based, with commentary from a studio in Bath and/or home.

If there's one issue in MTB racing, it's the lack of outside sponsors, apart from Mercedes-Benz. Where are they all? And why aren't they interested in MTB racing? 6-9 events a season isn't great is it?

If this deal brings in more rounds, and more money/sponsors for the teams, then it may well have been worth it - but I'm not holding my breath.

I really don’t know if DH will benefit from being on a wider, more mainstream, platform or suffer from being behind a paywall.

Is there any minority sport that's grown participation whilst it's professional level has been behind a paywall? Even football is starting to struggle in attracting new fans in the UK though it does a good job expanding it's market internationally and extracting more money from existing fans.

Is there any minority sport that’s grown participation whilst it’s professional level has been behind a paywall?

Road cycling?

I was thinking more of commercial benefit though. More money for teams and athletes via increased audience and sponsorship revenues (perhaps from non-cycling firms).

Could go either way, or remain static. I don't think anyone knows for sure, but I'd love to hear what Martin Whiteley thinks about it.

This sucks.

Aside from anything else races stay on Red Bull TV for ever - I think i finished watching last year's season about two weeks ago as I watch all the coverage in full on the turbo over winter (...Super Bruni is back!!!).

Anyone else spot this peculiar article on Pinkbike?

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/opinion-the-proxy-war-between-discovery-and-redbull-is-official.html

Maybe it's just me, but it's a very incendiary headline, following by an article that's a puff piece for Discovery, and I don't pretend to know exactly what they mean by 'proxy war' in the context of Sports Broadcasting, but one outlet winning the bid from another, ain't one in my book.

The UCI DH WC series isn’t going to be supplanted anytime soon and any RB-led alternative would be a sideshow – albeit perhaps a really good sideshow if they were to team up with Crankworx, for example.

A really good sideshow is what they might be aiming for. There's a very chicken and egg type scenario when you look at some of the other events - the crankworx DH and the IXS cup.

The coverage of those is shockingly bad. And as such, the top riders (say the top 15 men and top 5 women) seem to give them a miss. Which is a shame because looking at the helmet cams, the courses are pretty similar. If redbull showed up with some cameras and Warner, are the top riders going to enter?

Loads of DH fans love to moan about the UCI and their treatment/neglect of the discipline (pro riders are probably smart enough to keep their mouths shut). And yet what is most coveted? The rainbow stripe jersey.
Is this because they appreciate the steeped history of over a century of competitive cycling? Or is it just because it is the most high profile race?

In XC we see riders turn their back on WC points in an Olympic year. Nino at his peak skipped a WC race to train/prepare for Rio. Pidcock and VDP were both Olympic medal hunting too. I wager we would have seen far less of them on the mtb this coming year if you took injuries off the table.

While I agree with a lot of what you say, the top DH racers will still prioritise the WC series.

And for a lot of them that'll mean not wanting to risk getting injured at other races.

The win-win solution is for Red Bull to take the money they were spending on broadcasting, and put it into sponsoring extra WC rounds somehow.

Interesting to see if we get more rounds. In my limited understanding, at the moment organisers approach the UCI and take all the financial risk associated with putting the event on and presumably also pay the UCI a fee whether they make any money or not.
If as it reads, Discovery are also going to be running the series. More events (could) equal more viewers/money and may leave scope for them helping new organisers financially to put on events.

Not after a bloated F1 type season with events run my dubious Middle East dictators, but nobody can deny that the circuit has become way too Europe based.

As for coverage, I can see them keeping some of the current format of extras but that will be under GCN/Eurosport player subscription and them a highlight package or best of the field live on Eurosport. Hopefully they show the whole of the women’s field, that’s a big miss at the moment for Red Bull.
As stated already, you’re never going to get full course coverage with the current rider gaps. Just look at ski coverage, couple of angles from start gate, then pick up half way down. Their ski coverage is actually very good and if they can bring some of that behind the camera team in for the summer, then it could work very well.

If redbull showed up with some cameras and Warner, are the top riders going to enter?

Probably not because they aren’t contracted to and so its not their job. You also have to remember that at the moment all the sideshow events (Crankworx, Rampage, Hardline etc) are all invitational. You cant qualify for them by being good enough and earning a place, you have to get an invitation, which often means being sponsored by the correct brands or conversely being contracted not to do them if they are sponsored by a rival. How many “Monster” Athletes are invited to Hardline for example?

If we want more money in the sport then it needs to be broadcast on a wider platform than a drinks companies marketing platform. It’s the only way to attract proper sponsorship money from outside of the cycling industry

If we want more money in the sport then it needs to be broadcast on a wider platform than a drinks companies marketing platform. It’s the only way to attract proper sponsorship money from outside of the cycling industry

Absolutely! And more rounds. From a XCO perspective - look at the non World Cup races.....how many can you watch? And when you can, it's not great. So 6-9 World Cup events a year to bring in viewers, sponsors, money, etc
It's nowhere near enough....

While I agree with a lot of what you say, the top DH racers will still prioritise the WC series

but because it is currently the most exposure for the people who emply them

I totally agree the top guys wont risk their season in a second rate event - apart from all the French guys who go a bit mad on their national series

But if a "Red Bull race league" is pulling more viewers than "UCI DH presented by discosport" then where will the top teams and brands be suggesting their athletes focus their efforts?

But if a “Red Bull race league” is pulling more viewers than “UCI DH presented by discosport” then where will the top teams and brands be suggesting their athletes focus their efforts?

That would depend on how they league was run. At the moment every RB event is invitation only and so the entry list can be controlled and manipulated. With the UCI series anyone can enter if they are good enough to earn the right to be there. If RB stuck to their current methodology then its is just a marketing entertainment show and not really a race series to find the best

This.
Getting an entry from gaining points in your national series is a far better means of qualification than a fizzy drink endorsement

Well it's not on Eurosport live... Damn....

It's showing as on Monday 1pm for Womens, 2pm for Mens, XC afterwards...

So where to watch live ? Hmmmmm

Looks like I'll be casting it to the telly from the Eurosport app on my phone.
Eurosport has the Dauphiné and Le Mans on the channels here for Saturday lunchtime and afternoon.

Live on GCN+ app if your telly supports it.