Skysports

[HongKongPhooey]

Notice that Skysports are getting in on the act and covering more races this season. What's it like compared to good old Eurosport?

 

[nevada]

Ok . but it's highlights and they seem to stick to their allotted time.

 

[Leadbelly]

Just out of interest, who was doing the commentary for them yesterday?

 

[King Boonen]

It's worrying, I don't want to have to pay for Sky to watch cycling, but they have big money if they decide to bid for it...

 

[Cycle Chic]

Sky Sports 4

Just out of interest, who was doing the commentary for them yesterday?

Highlights of BELGIAN RACES are on Sky Sports...Declan Quigley and a guy called Johnson..Couldn't quite hear his name.

 

[gooner]

Now showing Flanders on Sky Sports 2 on Sunday 18.00-20.00. This along with 30 mins highlights of each T-A stage, hour highlights of MSR and an 30 mins of G-W shows that they now seriously fancy getting their claws next into cycling.

I don't think it's any coincidence Sky are starting to show these races just as it has been known News Corporation have been in talks recently with World Series Cycling. This has all the hallmarks of what happened in football in the early 90's when the Premier League was set up, breaking away from The Football League when David Dein, Martin Edwards and Rick Parry were the main instigators. Just swap them in this instance for guys like JV and Zdenek Bakala. As for the sharing of TV rights between the race organisers and the teams, I don't think that will be an issue either. The recent football deal Sky did for the Premiership next season is a 70% increase on the existing one now which in its own right was a huge one itself. If Sky bid along those lines with significant increases on the current TV deals, ASO and RCS would still get more in revenue than they do now even though it will be shared also with the teams.

Hate saying it as I don't want it to happen but this could be a go.

 

[Cycle Chic]

Now showing Flanders on Sky Sports 2 on Sunday 18.00-20.00. This along with 30 mins highlights of each T-A stage, hour highlights of MSR and an 30 mins of G-W shows that they now seriously fancy getting their claws next into cycling.

I don't think it's any coincidence Sky are starting to show these races just as it has been known News Corporation have been in talks recently with World Series Cycling. This has all the hallmarks of what happened in football in the early 90's when the Premier League was set up, breaking away from The Football League when David Dein, Martin Edwards and Rick Parry were the main instigators. Just swap them in this instance for guys like JV and Zdenek Bakala. As for the sharing of TV rights between the race organisers and the teams, I don't think that will be an issue either. The recent football deal Sky did for the Premiership next season is a 70% increase on the existing one now which in its own right was a huge one itself. If Sky bid along those lines with significant increases on the current TV deals, ASO and RCS would still get more in revenue than they do now even though it will be shared also with the teams.

Hate saying it as I don't want it to happen but this could be a go.

So if Sky broadcast the races that gives revenue to the teams ??

 

[King Boonen]

So if Sky broadcast the races that gives revenue to the teams ??

I'd assume so. Remember, it's all about revenue to Sky and what I think it their end game makes perfect sense.

1. Sponsor GB cycling and have huge success on the track

2. After benefitting from increased interest in cycling due to Olympic successes sponsor a pro team on the road off the back of that success with well known british riders from the track scene.

3. Develop an exceptional team and further push interest in cycling with results.

4. snap up TV rights (in UK with have a protected list of sporting events that must be shown on terrestrial tv. No road cycling except, in a round about way, the Olympic road race, is on it.) and charge people a fortune to watch (You can't pick and choose channels, you have to buy a package).

5. Force government to shut down any streaming sites. (I add this because a lot of fans are well versed in finding streams for races we can't currently see on eurosport.)


It may annoy DB et. al. but it'll make the most money for Sky.

 

[Swifty's Cakes]

I'd assume so. Remember, it's all about revenue to Sky and what I think it their end game makes perfect sense.

1. Sponsor GB cycling and have huge success on the track

2. After benefitting from increased interest in cycling due to Olympic successes sponsor a pro team on the road off the back of that success with well known british riders from the track scene.

3. Develop an exceptional team and further push interest in cycling with results.

4. snap up TV rights (in UK with have a protected list of sporting events that must be shown on terrestrial tv. No road cycling except, in a round about way, the Olympic road race, is on it.) and charge people a fortune to watch (You can't pick and choose channels, you have to buy a package).

5. Force government to shut down any streaming sites. (I add this because a lot of fans are well versed in finding streams for races we can't currently see on eurosport.)


It may annoy DB et. al. but it'll make the most money for Sky.

Regarding point 5, they've been spectacularly unsuccessful at doing anything like that for Premiership football streaming. I don't see it happening anytime soon.

 

[zalacain]

The EU made a law banning it last week
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.ph...to-block-free-live-internet-tv-streaming.html

 

[gooner]

So if Sky broadcast the races that gives revenue to the teams ??

That's the whole point of the World Series Cycling. Teams have been wanting to get a cut of the TV revenue but at the moment ASO and RCS get the whole pot which leaves teams just to rely on sponsorship and so on for the time being.

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=20087&highlight=bskyb

 

[Winterfold]

meh. I am quite happy paying £3 for eurosport on my ipad

paying £40 month for loads of 5hite i dont want as a bundle GFY Murdoch (apart from the BC money etc)

 

[gooner]

Sky Sports 3 are showing highlights of Brabantse Pijl next Wednesday 23.00-23.30. lol at the info they give out as they call the it Brabant Arrow. Nevertheless good to see their is some coverage for it and even better to see Sky do some races like this and G-W which Eurosport didn't cover themselves this year. If this was to lead to them increasing it to other semi-classics like Omlopp and DVV in the future you won't here from me complaining about their venture into the sport. Good on them infact.

 

[argyllflyer]

Saw on Twitter last night that they've got Romandie and Tour de Suisse too...

 

[JRanton]

Saw on Twitter last night that they've got Romandie and Toir de Suisse too...

Good stuff. Eurosport need a damn good kick up the **** and some proper competition. I presume it's just highlights but it's a start.

Did you notice how they managed to miss the Quintana intermediate spilt whilst on an ad break in Pais Vasco? Most important moment of the entire race and instead we're watching an advertisement of the great nation of Azerbaijan for the 99th time in the space of half an hour. Oh and Carlton Kirby reappeared too, just to put the icing on the cake.

 

[argyllflyer]

Good stuff. Eurosport need a damn good kick up the **** and some proper competition. I presume it's just highlights but it's a start.

Did you notice how they managed to miss the Quintana intermediate spilt whilst on an ad break in Pais Vasco? Most important moment of the entire race and instead we're watching an advertisement of the great nation of Azerbaijan for the 99th time in the space of hour an hour. Oh and Carlton Kirby reappeared too, just to put the icing on the cake.

Sky are using the international feeds for a lot of what they're showing - beware that Kirby lurks there sometimes!

I think Rob Hatch is doing the international feed for Brabantse Pijl though. Saw a tweet earlier from him in Brussels.

 

[wiggos sideburn]

You're going to see Sky move to broadcast more races in the future, at the moment they're testing the water on how popular it is

 

[cocteau_ireland]

Bit torn on this one. Eurosport has had a generation to get some production values & failed miserably.Sky's output already slickly sets the scene & would push interactive tech features. Hate idea of further outlay for s.sports hd upgrade,but will do if trend develops further.

 

[wiggos sideburn]

Bit torn on this one. Eurosport has had a generation to get some production values & failed miserably.Sky's output already slickly sets the scene & would push interactive tech features. Hate idea of further outlay for s.sports hd upgrade,but will do if trend develops further.

It will I think it will become similar to F1 and rugby, where they will cover it a lot but there will still be split broadcasting with the likes of Eurosport

 

[gooner]

My instant reaction to all this was a one of being strongly against it. But Eurosport do have a problem filling in some races with their congested schedule eg: the skiing and biathlon earlier in the year would prevent them from showing a race like the Omloop live. Sky's introduction could address the balance here.

And a 24 hour news channel which will bring much more exposure to it will help as well with more interviews and discussion. This is something Eurosport sadly lack outside of the racing coverage itself.

 

[armchairclimber]

The more SKY take, the more I'll have to rely upon Steephill etc. They'll buy out the honey-pot races soon enough.

I wonder if there'll be any Ofcom issues for them though with undue prominence of their own team/brand.

 

[argyllflyer]

Bit torn on this one. Eurosport has had a generation to get some production values & failed miserably.Sky's output already slickly sets the scene & would push interactive tech features. Hate idea of further outlay for s.sports hd upgrade,but will do if trend develops further.

I'm not sure who was to blame but there was the recent case of E3, which went out live in Europe on Eurosport 2, having no commentary for a huge chunk of the race. Unfortunately British Eurosport only showed it delayed, but cut out the entire chunk of no commentary, perhaps understandably. However, iirc, that meant coverage went from a break being away one minute with I don't know, 60km to go or so, to suddenly Cancellara being well down the road with no explanation how it happened.

Then there was the coverage of Strade Bianche, which was also supposed to be shown delayed on BE. But something finished early so rather than show an hour delayed at 1430, they began coverage at 1350 live. I turn on at 1430 to find I'm watching the last 20km live and it's all over pretty quickly. I'd have preferred to have watched a full hour's worth delayed.

The flexibility of their schedule is good for live sport, but less so if the event you want to watch is messed about.

 

[Leadbelly]

The cynic in me might think that all the Team Sky **** kissing from Smith and Harmon recently is them angling for the commentary job.

 

[Arnout]

It will I think it will become similar to F1 and rugby, where they will cover it a lot but there will still be split broadcasting with the likes of Eurosport

Yeah, I think pay-TV has realized that one cannot put every single event of a sport they are covering behind a decoder, you will never generate new interest with that. I can see a split coming too, perhaps showing weekend stages and highlights on freeview TV.

To be honest, I doubt cycling is big enough to be put behind paywalls. They tried it in Italy and it didn't work. On the other hand, it is one of the biggest sports with daytime action on weekdays, potentially filling gaps in schedules.

 

[cocteau_ireland]

I'm not sure who was to blame but there was the recent case of E3, which went out live in Europe on Eurosport 2, having no commentary for a huge chunk of the race. Unfortunately British Eurosport only showed it delayed, but cut out the entire chunk of no commentary, perhaps understandably. However, iirc, that meant coverage went from a break being away one minute with I don't know, 60km to go or so, to suddenly Cancellara being well down the road with no explanation how it happened.

Then there was the coverage of Strade Bianche, which was also supposed to be shown delayed on BE. But something finished early so rather than show an hour delayed at 1430, they began coverage at 1350 live. I turn on at 1430 to find I'm watching the last 20km live and it's all over pretty quickly. I'd have preferred to have watched a full hour's worth delayed.

The flexibility of their schedule is good for live sport, but less so if the event you want to watch is messed about.

Yeah,the e3 coverage was a disaster. I always have to record the nxt programme just to be sure. Am glad to have coverage to watch at all but feel that cycling is failing to deliver presentation-wise in the 21st century. Isn't it wonderful that jimmy murdoch likes to pedal(mostly untruths).