RIP GCN+

[Netserk]

Dear GCN+ Subscriber,

We are sending you this email to remind you that unfortunately the GCN+ service and the GCN app will close on 19 December 2023.  

As a reminder, your GCN+ subscription will end and you will be unable to access the GCN+ service and GCN app starting on 19 December 2023. You will be provided with a refund for any amounts that you have paid in advance for access to the service after the closure date. Refunds will be applied to the payment method used to purchase the subscription.

You can still use your GCN log in credentials on the GCN website at globalcyclingnetwork.com and the GCN Shop at shop.globalcyclingnetwork.com.  Your personal data will continue to be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.  If you have additional questions, you can reach our customer service team here.

The good news is that live cycling races are available on discovery+. As a gesture of our appreciation and to compensate you for the inconvenience of the closure of GCN+, we would like to offer you a voucher code to discovery+. With this voucher you will get a subscription to the Sport plan of discovery+ for the first 3 months at no cost starting from the date of your code redemption. GCNTODPLUSDK-CODE must be redeemed at auth.discoveryplus.com/redeem by 31 Dec 2023.

After the promotional period your subscription will convert to a paid subscription and will automatically renew each month at the then-current monthly price (now 129 DKK) inclusive of VAT, unless cancelled prior to renewal. Terms and Conditions* apply.

Thank you for being a GCN+ subscriber, we are grateful for your support.  

Sincerely,  
The GCN Team

 

[Samu Cuenca]

No, I haven't. Maybe it's because I'm a former user of Discovery+.

It doesn't matter that much to me, economically, I still used to subscribe to Discovery+ three times a year because of the tennis grand slams. Nine months of Discovery+ may be a little more expensive than a year of GCN but it can't be much difference.

And how do you watch biathlon if you don't have TV2 Play?

I paid 29 kr./month for GCN, and it seems I will now have to pay 129 kr./month to get all their races. Of course I'll also get a lot of other things out of it, but I'm not sure I need them.

Nowadays I actually do have TV2 Sport and TV2 Sport X through YouSee Play, but before that I watched biathlon in German, Swedish or Norwegian (sometimes I still do that). I won't have to pay that much more to get the full TV2 Play experience, but then there'll still be some races, especially on the women's side, I won't be able to watch.

 

[tobydawq]

I paid 29 kr./month for GCN, and it seems I will now have to pay 129 kr./month to get all their races. Of course I'll also get a lot of other things out of it, but I'm not sure I need them.

Nowadays I actually do have TV2 Sport and TV2 Sport X through YouSee Play, but before that I watched biathlon in German, Swedish or Norwegian (sometimes I still do that). I won't have to pay that much more to get the full TV2 Play experience, but then there'll still be some races, especially on the women's side, I won't be able to watch.

Okay, then GCN was even cheaper than I remembered.

 

[RedheadDane]

Ahh... I missed that you'd get a voucher...

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

It really is sad. Having that much coverage for that price was fantastic. Bummer that the guys who brought you Lance 1.5 had a say in this decision.

 

[Potomac]

Here's the email for Americans...

Dear GCN+ Subscriber,

We are sending you this email to remind you that unfortunately the GCN+ service and the GCN app will close on 19 December 2023.  

As a reminder, your GCN+ subscription will end and you will be unable to access the GCN+ service and GCN app starting on 19 December 2023. You will be provided with a refund for any amounts that you have paid in advance for access to the service after the closure date. Refunds will be applied to the payment method used to purchase the subscription. You can still use your GCN log in credentials on the GCN website at globalcyclingnetwork.com and the GCN Shop at shop.globalcyclingnetwork.com.  Your personal data will continue to be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.  If you have additional questions, you can reach our customer service team here.

We’re happy to announce that starting in February 2024, an expansive roster of 300+ of the biggest live races across Road, Mountain Bike, Track, BMX and Cyclocross — including the Giro d’Italia, Classics, Mountain Bike World Series & UCI Track Champions League — will be available for U.S. Max subscribers via the B/R Sports Add-On.

Max’s B/R Sports Add-On offers exceptional value with the widest range of premium live sports content included such as the MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA Men’s March Madness, U.S. Soccer, 24 Hours of Le Mans and a variety of non-live sports programming to appeal to every fan. Read the official announcement here.
Thank you for being a GCN+ subscriber, we are grateful for your support.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Eurosport, come for the cycling, stay for the residual snooker coverage cutting into the start of random basque country stages.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Well, Discovery Plus got my money as I love the holiday season cross races.
Let's see how it goes. I might even watch the TDU for a change to get my value for money.

 

[DMBM]

Are you sure the Christmas cyclocross is being shown on discovery?

I had a look at their listings and it appeared that they are not showing most of it. Like you I love the Christmas period cyclocross, but I don't see a way to access it.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Are you sure the Christmas cyclocross is being shown on discovery?

I had a look at their listings and it appeared that they are not showing most of it. Like you I love the Christmas period cyclocross, but I don't see a way to access it.

Don't make us panic.
Remember that cyclocross and cycling are listed as two different sports: maybe that is why you didn't see them.

discovery+

www.discoveryplus.com

 

[Carols]

Dear GCN+ Subscriber,

We are sending you this email to remind you that unfortunately the GCN+ service and the GCN app will close on 19 December 2023.  

As a reminder, your GCN+ subscription will end and you will be unable to access the GCN+ service and GCN app starting on 19 December 2023. You will be provided with a refund for any amounts that you have paid in advance for access to the service after the closure date. Refunds will be applied to the payment method used to purchase the subscription.

You can still use your GCN log in credentials on the GCN website at globalcyclingnetwork.com and the GCN Shop at shop.globalcyclingnetwork.com.  Your personal data will continue to be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.  If you have additional questions, you can reach our customer service team here.

The good news is that live cycling races are available on discovery+. As a gesture of our appreciation and to compensate you for the inconvenience of the closure of GCN+, we would like to offer you a voucher code to discovery+. With this voucher you will get a subscription to the Sport plan of discovery+ for the first 3 months at no cost starting from the date of your code redemption. GCNTODPLUSDK-CODE must be redeemed at auth.discoveryplus.com/redeem by 31 Dec 2023.

After the promotional period your subscription will convert to a paid subscription and will automatically renew each month at the then-current monthly price (now 129 DKK) inclusive of VAT, unless cancelled prior to renewal. Terms and Conditions* apply.

Thank you for being a GCN+ subscriber, we are grateful for your support.  

Sincerely,  
The GCN Team

This was not offered to USA participants

 

[Carols]

Also they can't figure a refund properly. I paid an annual fee of $49 + tax for coverage ending 3/30/2024. Or 3 months and 12 days. They gave me $11 back. It's only a couple of $ but I'm already pissed they took away the best cycling overage I ever had. they could at least figure my refund correctly.

 

[ManicJack]

Also they can't figure a refund properly. I paid an annual fee of $49 + tax for coverage ending 3/30/2024. Or 3 months and 12 days. They gave me $11 back. It's only a couple of $ but I'm already pissed they took away the best cycling overage I ever had. they could at least figure my refund correctly.

Someone posted a screenshot of their refund on another forum. It was $0.20 Seriously.

 

[Wyndbrook]

It's been all OK until tonight.
I live in the UK but I can only get flemish commentary on Diegnam cross, my Eurosport tv via Sky satellite (which has adverts) has an English commentary.

 

[RedheadDane]

It's been all OK until tonight.
I live in the UK but I can only get flemish commentary on Diegnam cross, my Eurosport tv via Sky satellite has an English commentary.

Weirdly, I can only get English commentary on the women's race (or a bunch of other languages, but no Danish.)

 

[del1962]

So I used to have gcn which gave me add free content and ability to watch races afterwards, I also have Eurosport as part of tv package, doe’s subscription give any thing tv package not give you?

This is in UK

 

[pastronef]

Weirdly, I can only get English commentary on the women's race (or a bunch of other languages, but no Danish.)

you mean on Eurosport? how much that costs?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

So I used to have gcn which gave me add free content and ability to watch races afterwards, I also have Eurosport as part of tv package, doe’s subscription give any thing tv package not give you?

This is in UK

You mean ES 1 and 2 as channels? An unpredictable subsection of the cycling content that is on Discovery + will be shown on them, with ad-breaks, and not necessarily live, basically depending on what else is on at the same time/what other proportion of ES viewers they feel a need to satisfy.

But if your subscription that includes ES is with Sky, you might well have Discovery + bundled with that, although I believe it takes a little seeking out. Instructions above, IIRC.

 

[hayneplane]

You mean ES 1 and 2 as channels? An unpredictable subsection of the cycling content that is on Discovery + will be shown on them, with ad-breaks, and not necessarily live, basically depending on what else is on at the same time/what other proportion of ES viewers they feel a need to satisfy.

But if your subscription that includes ES is with Sky, you might well have Discovery + bundled with that, although I believe it takes a little seeking out. Instructions above, IIRC.

I got Discovery+ free last year when they introduced it to the Sky package as a promo for their Aussie Open Tennis.

You get the streaming ad-free coverage as well as the linearTV Eurosport coverage and the live-streamed content can be viewed in full after the race which has enormously improved my cycling viewing experience. Only downside is that races can be hard to find as the cycling section is badly organised and to find a race it is often better to use the general search function and type the race name in.

I have noticed though that with the tie in with GCN there were less races on the linear TV channels than previous years. It will be interesting to see if that changes this season.

 

[tobydawq]

I already miss GCN's race posters. Discovery+ apparently just have some random picture of Bruno Armirail (I think) on the attack, and that is their thumbnail for every men's race.

They also are hopeless at presenting what race they broadcast. At the end of January, I can look forward to "Stage 1", "Stage 2" and "Stage 3". On January 31st and February 1st they also broadcast "Cycling". No mention of which race.

Very professional...

The Discovery+ app for my LG tv is hopeless too, I'm lucky if two seconds pass by without a freeze on a live broadcast. So I have to use an HDMI cable (or maybe I should invest in a Chromecast). To be fair, there wasn't even a GCN+ app for my TV, so I'm used to that.

 

[scribers]

Why didn’t someone just buy the GCN platform? Sorry if I’ve missed this already. And if not, why not replicate it (appropriately)

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Why didn’t someone just buy the GCN platform? Sorry if I’ve missed this already. And if not, why not replicate it (appropriately)

Discovery did, in 2019.

 

[VeloMaster]

Discovery did, in 2019.

So, we North Americans are no closer to a 'solution,' right? I may have to go the VPN route and just watch local broadcasters, although given the time difference from Europe to western Canada that may be tricky.

 

[RedheadDane]

you mean on Eurosport? how much that costs?

No, on Discovery+.

They also are hopeless at presenting what race they broadcast. At the end of January, I can look forward to "Stage 1", "Stage 2" and "Stage 3". On January 31st and February 1st they also broadcast "Cycling". No mention of which race.

It's like one of those little bags you can buy where you don't know what's in them!

 

[Wyndbrook]

I'm now a disco subscriber, managed to sort my language problem, my UK sub has spanish as the primary language with english following.
But, two weeks in and adverts are now appearing in the middle of cross races.