RIP GCN+

[pastronef]

how much does the Eurosport fee cost?

 

[Escarabajo]

Doesn't sound like much is changing. We paid Eurosport our subs, then GCN Eurosport and now going back to paying Eurosport again.

I sounds like it is not a problem in Europe but in the USA or other markets

 

[Tim Cahill]

Discovery+ and ES player are £6.99 a month in Britain

WIll we get the same road races as usual and will it be ad-free if you're watching via the player are the main questions I have.

I like to watch the scenery go past when I'm working from home in HD, Tiz just isn't the same.

Edit: seems like the same races, ad-free, though the price has effectively doubled.

 

[red_flanders]

GCN+ was (I guess still is) $8.99, so looks like the same price basically if we get commercial-free broadcasts of all the same stuff on Discovery+. Remains to be seen if the service is the same or similar. I don't mind $10 a month to watch cycling for 8 months of the year.

 

[nightowl]

I really hope I can get a VPN to work with ES player or Discovery+ or something because having to use flobikes will actually hurt my soul

 

[Hugh Januss]

I really hope I can get a VPN to work with ES player or Discovery+ or something because having to use flobikes will actually hurt my soul

Flo is the worst for me. In California flo's WC coverage is set up so that I have to either get up at 4AM or wait until I get home from work to watch because it takes them literally 4 hours to post the replays, at which point they have also posted highlights that give away the winners in the headlines. I hate them.

 

[Bolder]

Was never a subscriber of GCN but was considering due to something that's been *** since Eurosport Player ended and we're watching on demand on the Eurosport app: the *** search engine, which makes almost impossible to search for some past event that occurred more than 14 days ago, plus the annoying thing that when it's impossible to resume viewing from where I was when I closed the browser, making me search for the specific minute every time.

Was considering to give GCN a try to check if the viewing experience was better, but not anymore I guess.

I was thinking the same thing. I would have paid more for the old eurosport player, but we were never asked. I have to watch on the French app/site now and it seems like there's very little archived content.

 

[dennisdy]

Here in Canada, we are screwed. Of course, no one cares about our tiny market.

In Canada, you have FloSports which covers the TDF and the Vuelta. FloSports also covers other stage races and the classics.

 

[Armchair cyclist]

So price (UK) more than doubling, from £39.99 pa to £6.99 pm (no annual deduction available)

I get a raft of channels I will never watch for that, but not clear what the cycling offer is? Is there a commitment to continuing to produce documentaries and make those that are already made available?
What is the current Discovery Standard package cycling content?

 

[awavey]

Discovery+ and ES player are £6.99 a month in Britain

WIll we get the same road races as usual and will it be ad-free if you're watching via the player are the main questions I have.

I like to watch the scenery go past when I'm working from home in HD, Tiz just isn't the same.

Edit: seems like the same races, ad-free, though the price has effectively doubled.

absolutely that, but theres no guarantee Discovery+ will carry on showing everything GCN had because theyve got so much other streaming sports content to begin with, and youd think the GCN termination notice would have been worded in such a way to say "youll continue to watch all the great content we had via Discovery+" which it doesnt, so I suspect youll get the grand tours, but alot of the smaller races, especially on the womens side, will find themselves looking for another broadcast partner.

 

[argyllflyer]

Yeah everything under one roof might be a thing of the past.

 

[masking_agent]

sad to see. But I wonder if they will continue to have their YouTube show ? Or is that done as well ?

 

[red_flanders]

sad to see. But I wonder if they will continue to have their YouTube show ? Or is that done as well ?

Read somewhere that YouTube and the .com site will stay, unchanged, but the GCN+ service is gone.

Ah, here it is:

GCN as a standalone website and YouTube channel will continue, according to the press release, but the live race coverage and all past GCN+ content will be gone from the platform.

GCN+ and the GCN App Are Closing—Here’s What U.S. Cycling Fans Need to Know

Livestreaming and race coverage may get a lot worse for American audiences.

www.bicycling.com

 

[Armchair cyclist]

If (like me) you are wondering what you will lose, but don't want to pay to see how they compare, there is a free months trial available via Amazon (possibly only if you are an Amazon Prime subscriber):

discovery+ Entertainment & Sport

Enhance your Prime Video experience with a subscription to discovery+ Entertainment & Sport — Real-life entertainment plus front row seats to live sports By signing up or starting a free trial, Amazon will provide you with discovery+ Entertainment & Sport on behalf of Dplay Entertainment Ltd...

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[carlosthedwarf]

Really disappointed in this. The big draw for me as an Australian was on demand access to all races in one place with full, long and short replays given that everything happens overnight. And I'm not interested in going back to SBS given the quality of their recent coverage.

 

[Armchair cyclist]

I emailed Discovery to ask what content from GCN+ they might be carrying across, whether there would be catch-up and highlights edits, news programme, documentaries new and old, etc.

Their response suggests that they are not offering anything other than live coverage, with no reply about whether they are keeping the same scope of events.

Thank you for contacting discovery+ Customer Support. My name is Alex.

I am really sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused.

Live cycling is available on discovery+ when you subscribe to a discovery+ sports subscription that includes cycling. To explore discovery+ subscriptions, go to discoveryplus.com.

To learn more about what's happening to GCN+, go to https://help.globalcyclingnetwork.com/hc/articles/19965721079697.

 

[Carols]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does this mean we're getting refunds?

They better send me $$$ back!

 

[VeloMaster]

Flo is the worst for me. In California flo's WC coverage is set up so that I have to either get up at 4AM or wait until I get home from work to watch because it takes them literally 4 hours to post the replays, at which point they have also posted highlights that give away the winners in the headlines. I hate them.

It's the institutionalized spoilers at FLO that really kill me. They are very hard to avoid (I ask my wife, who's not interested in race results to load a replay for me just to avoid the spoilers). I have written to them to complain and even got a call back from someone in marketing. However, nothing has changed.

 

[Carols]

In Canada, you have FloSports which covers the TDF and the Vuelta. FloSports also covers other stage races and the classics.

It also costs $150 per year and is awful. I had it when they had all the RCS races,

 

[Lequack]

They better send me $$$ back!

From the Cyclingnews article:
A message in the app confirms GCN+ will close on December 19 "in all countries and regions" while the company also confirmed that "GCN+ subscribers will receive a refund for the time remaining on their subscriptions."

 

[gunara]

I have no alternative in my country, other than unreliable vpn access, just like when Eurosport disappeared back in mid 2010s, and when local syndicates lost interest in the 2000s. GCN+ is almost too easy to be true for me, mistook it for stability, turn out it's not for long.

I've been chasing cycling coverage all my life. It keeps disappearing on me.

 

[andrew_s]

it never made much sense when they had Eurosport Player, Eurosport, GCN+, and the GCN app, all covering the same product....It's just cutting costs, and streamlining their services. (And probably raising the subscription)

What they are doing is what Sky have been doing from the beginning - not selling (stopping) specialised offerings at a relatively modest cost, in favour of bundled packages (most of which is of zero interest) at twice the cost.

GCN+ was £40 p.a. - Discovery+ is £84, and the non-cycling stuff is just a waste.

 

[Savant12]

So price (UK) more than doubling, from £39.99 pa to £6.99 pm (no annual deduction available)

Is that only for new sign-ups? Just checked my subscription and it seems my 39.99 carries on when renewed.

 

[dazaau]

Sad day for cycling fans.

 

[Armchair cyclist]

Is that only for new sign-ups? Just checked my subscription and it seems my 39.99 carries on when renewed.

The £84 is for the Discovery standard package, which will be the new way to get the racing . If your subscription to GCN+ runs out before 19 Dec, yes, I guess the renewal price is £40 (similarly for new subscribers, if they want to join and have a 5 week binge on documentaries before they disappear and you get most of your money back)