Commentary and coverage on HBO MAX (formerly TNT, Discovery, EuroSport etc)

[ashhutch1997]

With all these crashes I made the right choice watching on ITV rather than listen to Hatch screaming "No No No No No No".

Honestly was like a funeral after Jesper Philipsen crashed for the following 20km, it's like they don't understand that crashes are part of bike races. It's ashame they don't have the same concern for the paying customers of TNT who they are absolutely shafting.

 

[Pogacsa]

I've been subscribing via Discoveryplus since Spring 2024. I cast it from my iPad onto the television (being 9 years old, it doesn't have a functioning Discovery plus app!)

Not only do we have adverts, but now everytime there is an advertising break, the connection with the television breaks down at the end of each advert segment. So I have to log back in again. Utterly frustrating.

The multi-screen works well but you only see four cameras, not even the main feed.

The women's Giro has an ad-free version, but not Le Tour. Livid with them and hope some sort of pressure is brought to bear, as they have breached advertising standards regulations.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Honestly was like a funeral after Jesper Philipsen crashed for the following 20km, it's like they don't understand that crashes are part of bike races. It's ashame they don't have the same concern for the paying customers of TNT who they are absolutely shafting.

Glad I missed the Hatch-led mourn-in. Crashes do unfortunately happen, but the racing goes on.
Now that they have adverts I have switched to ITV which I avoided in the past because of ads. I do miss listening to Carlton rambling about French farms and such on a dull stage like today.

 

[awavey]

The women's Giro has an ad-free version, but not Le Tour. Livid with them and hope some sort of pressure is brought to bear, as they have breached advertising standards regulations.

but theyre stating the multi view is the ad free feed for the TdF, so I cant see theyll have breached anything, youve got ad free coverage


whats more annoying is the slow assed pace in the TdF today meant theyre coverage overran, so I got 20mins of the tedious breakaway instead of the womens giro highlights, which meant I missed the podium and post stage interviews again, because somehow the live coverage cut early too, probably to go to the TdF

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Someone in the Studio team doesn't really understand. Huge background graphic proclaiming Pogacar's landmark as 100th pro stage win. "Only" 60 of them.

 

[Wyndbrook]

Someone in the Studio team doesn't really understand. Huge background graphic proclaiming Pogacar's landmark as 100th pro stage win. "Only" 60 of them.

Not surprised, they cannot even get the womens giro highlights right, programme ends before race finishes!

 

[awavey]

Not surprised, they cannot even get the womens giro highlights right, programme ends before race finishes!

they got it right tonight, well in so far as it was a complete program that is, the highlights themselves well it was just the last 30km of the stage in full, and no podium/interviews.

as I said a few posts back yesterday I think the Tour just overran and the epg didnt update, and clearly no-one checked the hour they picked off their content servers for streaming, so it just copy pasted the exact same hour when the Giro highlights were supposed to be, which was half of the breakaway, and only upto 10kms to go of the stage, Id guess the point is ultimately you werent missing any great package of highlights theyd put together, and you could still go rewatch the live stream of the race and get the same experience.

could happen again on stage 4, as the highlights are due right after their TdF coverage finishes.

 

[HashRouge]

If I see that eToro advert one more time I will not be responsible for my actions...

 

[awavey]

could happen again on stage 4, as the highlights are due right after their TdF coverage finishes.

and it did got to within the last km this time, at least the repeats seem to run to schedule even if it still seems to abruptly end with the stage results and gc standings

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Migels on German ES, who is already renowned for his endless cycling stories from years past, seems to try to remember even more stuff off the top of his head. He just told a story about Cancellara in the 2016 Tour abandoning, but then mentioned some unnecessary details like that the next stage finished in Finhaut-Émosson in France which is not the country Finhaut-Émosson is in, and which Cancellara still raced and then about the time trial to Megève, which he said was won by Rohan Dennis, who had already abandoned before. I know it‘s nice to know stuff, but just saying stuff that‘s wrong isn‘t that useful.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

"Wow wow wow! What a stage at the Tour de France"

So, Rob, what are you going to say at the end of a stage that is relevant and not utterly predictable?

 

[awavey]

I normally swap channels as soon as they cross the line, but there was nothing else worth watching so i left in on for once so is the post kind of wander round the team buses and sticking microphones in front of riders and DSs a new thing ?

 

[HashRouge]

I normally swap channels as soon as they cross the line, but there was nothing else worth watching so i left in on for once so is the post kind of wander round the team buses and sticking microphones in front of riders and DSs a new thing ?

Yes it is, they've only been doing it this year I think. Hannah Walker is actually really good at it, I'd be far too embarrassed!

 

[Izzyeviel]

So, what do we think of Larry on comms? I think he's good.

 

[ashhutch1997]

So, what do we think of Larry on comms? I think he's good.

I can't lie, I find him very annoying

 

[ashhutch1997]

"Wow wow wow! What a stage at the Tour de France"

So, Rob, what are you going to say at the end of a stage that is relevant and not utterly predictable?

I was genuinely cringing yesterday when he said that. He's been trying way to hard to aura farm this year, it pretty embarrassing. And I used to really rate Rob Hatch before 2020

 

[the delgados]

"Wow wow wow! What a stage at the Tour de France"

So, Rob, what are you going to say at the end of a stage that is relevant and not utterly predictable?

Wow wow wow wow!

 

[Valv.Piti]

Rob Hatch is just so super annoying with his prententious over-pronunciation and overhyping of everything that goes on in a bike race.

Also, I really do miss Rolf Sørensen. Second year in a row he misses out and Im fearing he's not coming back in TdF at least. Super sharp race analysis most of the time. And if he doesn't, I hope they pick up Michael Rasmussen who's the best analyst in Denmark by a mile and most importantly, calls it as he sees it with no regards of nationalities. But that ship has probably sailed a while ago

 

[RedheadDane]

Rasmussen as a commentator?
If that happens, I might as well cancel my Tv2 Play subscription, and watch all races on Max.
His "analyses" are probably going to be stuff like: "[Classic rider] clearly needs to loose weight."

 

[argyllflyer]

It seems to me that Carlton has been relegated to 2nd commentator this year. Usually they switch each stage between CK and RH for who does the last few dozen km to finish but as far as I can see, RH has done every finale so far. Is CK doing a global ES commentary for the closing stages like he did in Giro (where he did whole thing?)

 

[the delgados]

It seems to me that Carlton has been relegated to 2nd commentator this year. Usually they switch each stage between CK and RH for who does the last few dozen km to finish but as far as I can see, RH has done every finale so far. Is CK doing a global ES commentary for the closing stages like he did in Giro (where he did whole thing?)

I've noticed that as well. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm going to assume my man Carlton Kirby has health problems that prevent him from providing the commentary we desperately need.
There's no other logical reason for replacing a maestro with deadwood.
Godspeed, CK!

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

JHB describes a reservoir during an ad-break, while none of the 4 cameras are showing it, then McEwan and Hatch advertise the virtues of the quad screen while only people watching it can hear them. McEwan talking about scanning from one screen to another while two of the screens are identical, so he obviously wasn't looking at it at the time.

 

[Wyndbrook]

Long given up with the quad screen, was getting wrist cramp from holding the magnifying glass.
And still no graphics, all in all its a very mediocre effort by Warner.

 

[wirral]

So, they send Adam Blythe to the Tour to sit on the back of a motorbike and espouse half-baked theories as to what tactics the leading teams should employ.

1. He could do that from a studio (I would rather he didn't but he thinks it is his job)
2. All his theories contain ridiculous assumptions
3. All his theories are complex and multi-step so take minutes to explain.
4. He struggles with the technology to some extent.

He has been sent to the Tour to spot what is going on in the race that the cameras don't see and to get info from team cars. The show director needs to have a word. Jens Voigt and Romain Bardet managed it perfectly well.

I understand that Adam Blythe is the light relief, the joker in the pack, so the show doesn't get too serious but he needs to be firmly managed.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

I'm reminded of last year's Vuelta, when for the first 10 days we had Laura Winter, Matt Stephens & Nathan Van Hooydonck on The Breakaway.....and it was far better.
Then Blythe came back and said he hasn't really watch any of it, and had done no prep........it was a definite downgrade - and he drags the others down to his level, including Orla.