Discovery Channel vs. Sky

[cawright1375]

Back when the Discovery Channel was a sponsor I thought they dropped the ball in regards to promoting the sport, or maybe the team management structure failed to use the sponsor for promotion. Or maybe even USA Cycling, which I know only had a relation in that they provided Lance, George's etc licensce failed to see them as a way to promote cycling. Anyway I had always thought there was a missed opportunity to promote the sport in this country, especially as a lot of the programs they did air were only shown on the secondary channels.

So my question is has Sky done anything yet to promote the team? As British Cycling is involved I'd think they would do a lot to promote cycling and the team itself.

 

[scoot'n]

At the ProTour level, US based sponsors are primarily interested in getting exposure in the European market. In many regards, the mere name recognition from having a team in the TdF is all they need to justify their involvement in terms of ROI. What would you have expected Discovery Channel to have done differently, especially given that they were probably not even the slightest bit concerned about the US market?

 

[LugHugger]

Back when the Discovery Channel was a sponsor I thought they dropped the ball in regards to promoting the sport, or maybe the team management structure failed to use the sponsor for promotion. Or maybe even USA Cycling, which I know only had a relation in that they provided Lance, George's etc licensce failed to see them as a way to promote cycling. Anyway I had always thought there was a missed opportunity to promote the sport in this country, especially as a lot of the programs they did air were only shown on the secondary channels.

So my question is has Sky done anything yet to promote the team? As British Cycling is involved I'd think they would do a lot to promote cycling and the team itself.

you mean something like this????

http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/skyride

 

[scoot'n]

you mean something like this????

http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/skyride

Yes, but that's a UK company trying to improve it's market share in the UK. Completely irrelevant to the issue of the Discovery Channel, or USPS before them, trying to expand market share in Europe.

 

[LugHugger]

Yes, but that's a UK company trying to improve it's market share in the UK. Completely irrelevant to the issue of the Discovery Channel, or USPS before them, trying to expand market share in Europe.

my post was in direct response to the op asking about Sky promoting cycling in the UK and USPS/Discovery's lack of pursuance of their domestic market. Sky/British Cycling are certainly making the most of the opportunity to promote both brands and the sport in the UK - which is not especially cycle-centric when it comes to media exposure. i'm not sure how many cyclists will invest in Sky dishes purely because of their involvement though and whether this will pay back Murdoch's investment

 

[scoot'n]

my post was in direct response to the op asking about Sky promoting cycling in the UK and USPS/Discovery's lack of pursuance of their domestic market. Sky/British Cycling are certainly making the most of the opportunity to promote both brands and the sport in the UK - which is not especially cycle-centric when it comes to media exposure. i'm not sure how many cyclists will invest in Sky dishes purely because of their involvement though and whether this will pay back Murdoch's investment

They're not necessarily trying to get cyclists to invest in Sky dishes. They're using the support of cycling related events to get their name in front of everyone. Doing so while supporting such a healthy activity, especially one aimed at getting and keeping kids involved will be well received by the demographic they're shooting for (or at least that's the plan).

Discovery's stated goal, and USPS before them, was increased exposure in Europe. Sponsoring bike events and bike safety rodeos for kids in the US would do nothing toward that goal.