Commentary on TNT and other WB brands

[houtdffan]

the us version of the hbomax streams have been commercial free

 

[CyclistAbi]

"A big loss": TNT pundit warns of damage to British cycling as Tour de France moves behind paywall in the UK

With the Tour de France now exclusively behind a paywall in the UK for the first time since the 1980s, TNT Sports pundit Brian Smith has warned that the sport risks alienating the general public just...

cyclinguptodate.com

2027 Tour de France Grand Depart in Edinburgh exclusively behind a paywall in the UK.

 

[HashRouge]

There are 2 streams on the app, one from the main channel with adverts and one without for now.

Oh fingers crossed that continues! Imagine adverts halfway up the Cipressa

Knowing my luck, they'll re-introduce adverts the second I re-start my subscription on opening weekend.

 

[search]

"A big loss": TNT pundit warns of damage to British cycling as Tour de France moves behind paywall in the UK

With the Tour de France now exclusively behind a paywall in the UK for the first time since the 1980s, TNT Sports pundit Brian Smith has warned that the sport risks alienating the general public just...

cyclinguptodate.com

2027 Tour de France Grand Depart in Edinburgh exclusively behind a paywall in the UK.

the article only refers to the current broadcasting situation, not including any news for 2027. The organisers are actually still working on it, and hope to find a resolution within the coming six months.

Free-to-air TV coverage of 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ in the UK 'a work in progress', say organisers

Grand Départ managing director Paul Bush says it's 'important' stages are free to watch in the UK

www.cyclingweekly.com

 

[awavey]

"A big loss": TNT pundit warns of damage to British cycling as Tour de France moves behind paywall in the UK

With the Tour de France now exclusively behind a paywall in the UK for the first time since the 1980s, TNT Sports pundit Brian Smith has warned that the sport risks alienating the general public just...

cyclinguptodate.com

2027 Tour de France Grand Depart in Edinburgh exclusively behind a paywall in the UK.

Trust me it won't be, also Smithy isnt exactly an impartial observer on this topic

 

[awavey]

the article only refers to the current broadcasting situation, not including any news for 2027. The organisers are actually still working on it, and hope to find a resolution within the coming six months.

Free-to-air TV coverage of 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ in the UK 'a work in progress', say organisers

Grand Départ managing director Paul Bush says it's 'important' stages are free to watch in the UK

www.cyclingweekly.com

As I said few weeks back expect an announcement in the autumn...or sooner if they get the deal done quicker 😉

 

[CyclistAbi]

the article only refers to the current broadcasting situation, not including any news for 2027. The organisers are actually still working on it, and hope to find a resolution within the coming six months.

Free-to-air TV coverage of 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ in the UK 'a work in progress', say organisers

Grand Départ managing director Paul Bush says it's 'important' stages are free to watch in the UK

www.cyclingweekly.com

The article you linked says that the current situation is the whole Tour 2027 edition will be broadcasted behind a paywall.

Trust me it won't be, also Smithy isnt exactly an impartial observer on this topic

It won't be only if TNT gets compensated, so in the end it's not really about the trust but about money.

As I said few weeks back expect an announcement in the autumn...or sooner if they get the deal done quicker 😉

Personally i wouldn't be satisfied with that, only partial "free to air" coverage all while TNT compensated and the rest of the event behind a paywall.

P.S. Tour de France is something that should remain accessible and not to be alienated from general public, otherwise it won't be Tour de France any more but will become Tour de Slop instead.

 

[search]

The article you linked says that the current situation is the whole Tour 2027 edition will be broadcasted behind a paywall.

currently TNT is the sole owner of broadcasting rights for 2027, yes. But this doesn't mean that it will still be the case then.

 

[CyclistAbi]

currently TNT is the sole owner of broadcasting rights for 2027, yes. But this doesn't mean that it will still be the case then.

Only if somebody pays them enough money, compensates them, then they will be prepared to let go of the exclusivity and even then likely not for the whole Tour 2027 edition, just the UK stages. But honestly i don't know on where the optimism comes from, as why would they give up on exclusivity, for the UK stages, that kinda goes directly against their business model in the UK and even relatively high offer for compensation IMHO shouldn't satisfy them. For them it makes much more sense to force potential UK viewers into subscribing and there won't be a better opportunity for that then Grand Depart in Edinburgh. As if that won't cut it then their business model is flawed anyway and it won't be sustainable on the long run. Potential harm, for an event such as Tour de France, that can be substantial, can take a substantial hit in terms of general public interest in the UK in the next decade or so.

 

[harrybo]

Hatch,s is at again, I was watching a u tube clip from the Rockets "inside another sprint chance for dylan", in the background you could hear Hatch and Blythe rabbitting on race commentary, next I hear Hatch taking about the rockets... Unibet ROSE... as in the drink..... Rockets, he did this at least twice.. Now i,ve been following the Rockets during the close season and i,ve never heard this pronouncation before... Seems he has been found out, Hatch has not been keeping up with things. Its only Febuuary and he,s spoiling things already. the guys a total and utter waster. Now If I am incorrect on this I apologise to the pratt, but I believe I am correct
Also he spoiled the first morning of the Ashes too, getting up early and nearly having heart failure when he came on... Honestly Ive had a belly full of him, think i,ll try to watch races live , put pro cycling stats on me phone and keep up that way and keep my sanity, til carlton comes back

 

[HashRouge]

Only if somebody pays them enough money, compensates them, then they will be prepared to let go of the exclusivity and even then likely not for the whole Tour 2027 edition, just the UK stages. But honestly i don't know on where the optimism comes from, as why would they give up on exclusivity, for the UK stages, that kinda goes directly against their business model in the UK and even relatively high offer for compensation IMHO shouldn't satisfy them. For them it makes much more sense to force potential UK viewers into subscribing and there won't be a better opportunity for that then Grand Depart in Edinburgh. As if that won't cut it then their business model is flawed anyway and it won't be sustainable on the long run. Potential harm, for an event such as Tour de France, that can be substantial, can take a substantial hit in terms of general public interest in the UK in the next decade or so.

I think it will be free to air in the UK to be honest. A lot of public money will be spent on hosting the TdF and TdFF Grand Departs and there also be significant disruption due to road closures etc. That will bring with it an expectation that the race ought to be free to view for the stages hosted in the UK. I might be wrong, but I'm British and I'd be quite surprised if we aren't able to watch the UK stages for free. Besides, I actually think that works in TNT's favour - let the poor old UK viewers watch the first few days for free, get them hooked, and then they'll be more likely to sign up for a subscription.

 

[harrybo]

I,m into watching road racing and watching cross, apart from my cycling friends , no one else I know which is the majority of them dont give a fig about cycling , so in percentage terms that probably 90...unfortunately. so they not going to watch the tdf
In 2014 stage 2 of the Giro passed the top of the avenue , came back in at the bottom later in the day, I said the bloke across the road early that morning , are you off to watch the Giro.. whats that he says... I give up says I

 

[awavey]

Only if somebody pays them enough money, compensates them, then they will be prepared to let go of the exclusivity and even then likely not for the whole Tour 2027 edition, just the UK stages. But honestly i don't know on where the optimism comes from, as why would they give up on exclusivity, for the UK stages, that kinda goes directly against their business model in the UK and even relatively high offer for compensation IMHO shouldn't satisfy them. For them it makes much more sense to force potential UK viewers into subscribing and there won't be a better opportunity for that then Grand Depart in Edinburgh. As if that won't cut it then their business model is flawed anyway and it won't be sustainable on the long run. Potential harm, for an event such as Tour de France, that can be substantial, can take a substantial hit in terms of general public interest in the UK in the next decade or so.

well ok, how do you think the Beeb are showing any of the Winter Olympics ? their biggest ever amount of coverage apparently, because Warner Bros Discovery own all the exclusive European broadcast rights to Olympic coverage thesedays.

the Beeb made a deal with WBD (aka TNT) because the Beeb want to show it because they know people will tune in to watch curling and ice skating etc etc, so WBD are used to having exclusivity to something, but allowing other broadcasters a slice of the action.

and it will be the same with the Tour, and I know it makes me sound like an old woman but I remember the days when all the coverage of the Tour we had was the highlights on C4, and I dont think there was any live coverage on terrestrial "free" tv until the 2007 Grand Depart with the prologue and stage 1, and then it was back to highlights till the finish, think we got the finish live then.

but we didnt get the whole tour live till 2012ish (might have been 2011 actually) , and it took maybe another couple of years or more till we got full stages live.

and we probably would still have got it, if enough people had actually bothered to watch it, but they didnt, thats why ITV werent too bothered about losing their deal, because the viewing figures were terrible, and it cost them alot of money.

now when it comes to next years Tour, the ASO will be keen to make sure their sponsors get the widest UK numbers of eyeballs on their logos, theyll want the UK stages on FTA tv, they wont care so much once they hop back across the channel, but theyll be encouraging WBD (aka TNT) to make some kind of deal with the BBC or ITV, C4 even C5, anyone really just for those stages.

and they also need a host nation broadcaster with enough tech, probably 4k UHD, equipment, people and experience of large live complex outside sports broadcasts and backhaul to transmission out to pan europe, to plug in to for the UK stages, again once back in France they can revert to TF1, but in the UK that generally means the Beeb, I dont think WBD(aka TNT) have that capability themselves, there are other organisations who do all the premier league football stuff for them who they could use and might have to call on as the big fly in the ointment is this all happens during Wimbledon, which the Beeb goes wall to wall on, and a very good chance the British F1 GP happens that weekend too.

but this is why Im sure behind the scenes now theyre all trying to work on a deal that gives all the involved parties what they want from it, and Im confident it will happen.

the thing that grinds my gears the most in this discussion is its always about the TdF, not one person ever seems to go well hey the TdFF is also behind this paywall, and the TdFF is also racing in the UK, and weve never had free coverage of it, so why are none of these earnest media pundits who keep going on about ITV/TdF getting bothered about the coverage for that ?

 

[CyclistAbi]

I think it will be free to air in the UK to be honest. A lot of public money will be spent on hosting the TdF and TdFF Grand Departs and there also be significant disruption due to road closures etc. That will bring with it an expectation that the race ought to be free to view for the stages hosted in the UK. I might be wrong, but I'm British and I'd be quite surprised if we aren't able to watch the UK stages for free. Besides, I actually think that works in TNT's favour - let the poor old UK viewers watch the first few days for free, get them hooked, and then they'll be more likely to sign up for a subscription.

I,m into watching road racing and watching cross, apart from my cycling friends , no one else I know which is the majority of them dont give a fig about cycling , so in percentage terms that probably 90...unfortunately. so they not going to watch the tdf
In 2014 stage 2 of the Giro passed the top of the avenue , came back in at the bottom later in the day, I said the bloke across the road early that morning , are you off to watch the Giro.. whats that he says... I give up says I

now when it comes to next years Tour, the ASO will be keen to make sure their sponsors get the widest UK numbers of eyeballs on their logos, theyll want the UK stages on FTA tv, they wont care so much once they hop back across the channel, but theyll be encouraging WBD (aka TNT) to make some kind of deal with the BBC or ITV, C4 even C5, anyone really just for those stages.

So for the most hopeful the maximum UK viewers can get is for TNT to ease back on the exclusivity part and in exchange for a couple of millions to allow broadcasting of a couple of stages to wider audience as some sort of promotion for the service. It's grim guys.

@harrybo

And how many of that friends know what Tour de France is? Possibly all of them?

Anyway guys, this is not sustainable, we are with you. Eventually UK viewers should get Eurosport back and stop with this money grab nonsense that likely won't work anyway.

 

[HashRouge]

So for the most hopeful the maximum UK viewers can get is for TNT to ease back on the exclusivity part and in exchange for a couple of millions to allow broadcasting of a couple of stages to wider audience as some sort of promotion for the service. It's grim guys.

@harrybo

And how many of that friends know what Tour de France is? Possibly all of them?

Anyway guys, this is not sustainable, we are with you. Eventually UK viewers should get Eurosport back and stop with this money grab nonsense that likely won't work anyway.

Oh yeah, I mean we definitely don't think this is a "good" situation. It's frankly dreadful!

 

[search]

Only if somebody pays them enough money, compensates them, then they will be prepared to let go of the exclusivity and even then likely not for the whole Tour 2027 edition, just the UK stages. But honestly i don't know on where the optimism comes from, as why would they give up on exclusivity, for the UK stages, that kinda goes directly against their business model in the UK and even relatively high offer for compensation IMHO shouldn't satisfy them

sublicensing is a completely normal thing when it comes to TV rights. WB/TNT also sells football matches to the BBC, for example, although this is their main market - contrary to cycling.

 

[chickenlips]

When it comes to watching cycling, unless you're really into it, your average/none sports enthusiasts ain't gonna sit through 4/5/6 hours of nothingness all afternoon, day after day, unless its a one dayer. Other sports are short term action packed, mostly. Most of cycling races, nothing happens until either, the last mountain in the stage, or last 200mtrs of a non mountain stage. Cycling fans either watch the whole thing because they love the sport, or tune in when they know when the action begins. Who's gonna pay for not many people to watch it. When you see loads of people at the roadside, it gives the impression everyone lives cycling. It's just that the race happens to pass through their village, so its an excuse to watch a live race for the 5 minutes it passes through.

 

[tobydawq]

Hatch,s is at again, I was watching a u tube clip from the Rockets "inside another sprint chance for dylan", in the background you could hear Hatch and Blythe rabbitting on race commentary, next I hear Hatch taking about the rockets... Unibet ROSE... as in the drink..... Rockets, he did this at least twice.. Now i,ve been following the Rockets during the close season and i,ve never heard this pronouncation before... Seems he has been found out, Hatch has not been keeping up with things. Its only Febuuary and he,s spoiling things already. the guys a total and utter waster. Now If I am incorrect on this I apologise to the pratt, but I believe I am correct
Also he spoiled the first morning of the Ashes too, getting up early and nearly having heart failure when he came on... Honestly Ive had a belly full of him, think i,ll try to watch races live , put pro cycling stats on me phone and keep up that way and keep my sanity, til carlton comes back

I also thought it was pronounced Rose the English way until you convinced me that must be mistaken. And it is indeed a German manufacturer, so better apologise to the guy.

 

[CyclistAbi]

sublicensing is a completely normal thing when it comes to TV rights. WB/TNT also sells football matches to the BBC, for example, although this is their main market - contrary to cycling.

Still we are talking about couple of stages here, at best. So even if the best possible scenario unfolds, it still can't be satisfactory in any reasonable level in terms of general public access to pro peloton. Maybe at least a chance to properly say goodbye to Tour de France and cycling in general in UK?

 

[search]

Still we are talking about couple of stages here, at best. So even if the best possible scenario unfolds, it still can't be satisfactory in any reasonable level in terms of general public access to pro peloton. Maybe at least a chance to properly say goodbye to Tour de France and cycling in general in UK?

yeah, I don't think anyone is expecting more than those 3 (or 6, including the women) stages to end up free-to-air. Don't think it's a major deal though. The Brits are used to paying for sports.

Problem is more that cycling currently is only available through a football subscription, and therefor extremely expensive. This may change, though, as TNT has lost most of their major football rights on from next year.

 

[CyclistAbi]

@search

What is the market share of TNT in UK?

I feel that general public will in some way pay for national broadcaster or cable operator and if the market share for such channels is high in regards to the households, then it's almost like saying "free to air" and that is IMHO not so problematic. But if market share is low and the monthly fee for access it is high then forget it, that IMHO is not suitable place for Tour de France and possibly beyond.

Sports piracy explodes in UK with 3.6bn illegal streams and rise of black-market bookmakers

The number of illegal streams of sports events in Britain has more than doubled to 3.6 billion in the past three years according to a new report

www.theguardian.com