Professional Cycling - How does OLN suck, let me count the ways...

The tour was awesome, as always, although I could've done without the "Cutters". OLN started advertising for the thing like 3 months in advance, and it was a big ratings success. Why is the rest of their programming grade D horsecrap? I've caught maybe one cycling show since then, but they have tons of hunting shows and cheesy, cheap to produce, "countdown" style shows. Oh, and the narrators of these shows talk at you like a substance-abusing snowboarder. Okay, I feel better now.

i agree with you, the tour coverage was awesome, but here have been very few cycling related programs since, although i did really like the "greg lemond: fearless" show.

Yeah, let's go back to the coverage we had in the good old days of the '70s... :rolleyes:

But yeah, if I had to pick, I prefered the coverage of the '03 tour versus the '04 tour. A little less Trautwig and a little more Gum? Or just a little more Phil, Paul and Bob. They are what makes the tour coverage for me. Even more, I want the old Bob Roll commercials back. They were funny!

The tour was awesome, as always, although I could've done without the "Cutters". OLN started advertising for the thing like 3 months in advance, and it was a big ratings success. Why is the rest of their programming grade D horsecrap? I've caught maybe one cycling show since then, but they have tons of hunting shows and cheesy, cheap to produce, "countdown" style shows. Oh, and the narrators of these shows talk at you like a substance-abusing snowboarder. Okay, I feel better now.

I totally agree. I like the outdoors, but guns, fishing poles, and skateboards aren't my thing. Do they ever feature XC skiing?

Hey, if they do nothing else but broadcast the complete Tour every year, they are tops in my book. I don't give a crap what they do in the interim. Having said that, I ocassionally run into a good cycle race or triathalon on OLN.

Hey, if they do nothing else but broadcast the complete Tour every year, they are tops in my book. I don't give a crap what they do in the interim. Having said that, I ocassionally run into a good cycle race or triathalon on OLN.

You are part of the problem.

I dumped OLN after their abandonment of the Vuelta this year. Screw you OLN guys, I'm going home!

You are part of the problem.

That's not an especially cool response. The guy likes to watch the tour, doesn't really get into other races and doesn't fault OLN for only covering the tour to any extent. While it pisses me off that they gave a lousy hour to this year's vuelta, I'll still take it compared to the Home and Garden channel or CSPAN, or NOTHING! OLN has to make money and I'm going to go out on a wild limb and guess that last year's vuelta coverage wasn't enough of a screaming success to warrant spending the cash this year. Or perhaps you've seen a corporate P&L statement ...

-mark

You are part of the problem.

Perhaps, but what do you want him to do? It's quite possible his actions are a result and not a cause of OLN's coverage (or lack thereof). He said "I ocassionally run into a good cycle race or triathalon on OLN," I take this to mean that if he and others could be made aware of these other races then maybe the network could find more sponsors. A good place to start is to secure the contract to televise the _____ and then advertise it during the TdF coverage, even if it is next spring.

How would YOU solve it, Laggard?

While it pisses me off that they gave a lousy hour to this year's vuelta, I'll still take it compared to the Home and Garden channel or CSPAN, or NOTHING!

Yes, one hour of coverage - 1 MONTH AFTER THE RACE WAS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was the final straw for me. I encourage others to continue to send OLN e-mail reagarding covering @ least the 3 Grand Tours each year. At the very least, they need to quit calling OLN the cycling network. What a joke!!

E-Mail OLN if you want more!!!!!!!!

I would solve it by encouraging everyone to take an interest in races other than the TDF and let OLN know that you want more coverage of other races.

OLN obviously doesn't get good enough ratings on it's non-TDF broadcast to warrant further coverage. There's a substantial number of people who even if given more race coverage still will only watch the TDF. Those people are the problem.

If every single person who tuned in to watch OLN's TDF coverage also tuned in to watch the Zurich Championship, OLN would show it yearly.

Look for more cycling coverage. PBR is now on NBC.

Look for more cycling coverage. PBR is now on NBC.

Yea Ha! :D

Thank you. I didn't respond, because I would have had to say something not terribly pleasant in response to such a stupid statement.undefined

And I eventually explained my statement.

I was right but apologize if I was rude.

I heard that they were only showing the Tour of Lance today, not the Tour de France. i.e. they were only showing the stages where he had impact and were leaving out stages such as sprint finish stages.

If so, this says a lot about them and what they think the average viewer wants. If Lance does do the TDF next year, don't be surprised if this is the norm.

You think if some Euro with a funny name won six in a row that OLN would devote a day to him?

I'll take fishing with Roland over yet even more damn Lance worship.

I can't wait for Armstrong to retire. Yes, I'm bitter and annoyed.

I guess that's why they renamed OLN the "Only Lance Network." You gotta respect the guy but enough IS enough.

And coverage of bicycle racing was sooooooooo much better before OLN.

We should be just as mad at ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, etc., etc., etc. Why attack OLN for giving us some bicycle racing as opposed to virtually nil on every other network? Let the TDF audience build up, and, hopefully, we'll get more non-Olympic races covered.

I'd like to see more coverage of races other than the TDF and of cyclists not currently dating pop stars, but if the cycling community turns against any network that starts to provide cycling coverage, we'll get a lot less coverage in the long run.

You think if some Euro with a funny name won six in a row that OLN would devote a day to him?

I'll take fishing with Roland over yet even more damn Lance worship.

I can't wait for Armstrong to retire. Yes, I'm bitter and annoyed.

When Lance does retire, you'll get your wish regarding endless fishing shows!

I guess then we'll all be wearing Orlando Wilson "Fishstrong" bands...most likely in Large-mouth bass Brown.

Coverage from the '03 tour was better for one reason.......Al Trautwig......the guy just sucks at cycle broadcasting, HE doesnt know anything about cycling and should be dropped. Gum should come back for '05......IMHO

Oh yea....and lets get to watch the giro and tour and vuelta this upcomming year please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think the problem lies more so in the mass populus not knowing any other bike races other than TdF. If you were to ask them about Paris-Roubaix, Giro, Vuelta, etc you'd get blank stares...hell, i didn't know about the Giro/Vuelta/Paris-Roubaix until AFTER i started riding which was AFTER a TdF....

melloboy

Isn't OLN about to launch a Lance reality show? Something to do with a car and his girl friend.

Isn't OLN about to launch a Lance reality show? Something to do with a car and his girl friend.

There's an Overhaulin' show on Discovery where Sheryl has Lance's GTO overhauled without his knowledge.

wait, I'm looking

still looking

still looking

still looking....

CBS or NBC or ABC (i forget which) brought 1 or 2hr highlights every sunday at 11am (PST) for the TdF this year....

I understand some of the Donner Party complained that the steaks they were served after their rescue were overdone too. And why not baked instead of mashed potatoes?

OLN gaves us the TDF, Paris Tours, a terribly abbreviated Vuelta, and the Tour de Nez from beautiful downtown Reno NV, to name just some of their coverage. The other networks gave us...

wait, I'm looking

still looking

still looking

still looking....
And it makes so much sense to make angry attacks against the one network that gives decent coverage of a major cycling race. That will encourage other networks to put their feet in the water.

From the OLN website:

Tour du Faso
Thursday, December 2
12 - 1pm ET

It's not much but it's a whole lot better than another TdF rehash.

Rob

From the OLN website:

Tour du Faso
Thursday, December 2
12 - 1pm ET

It's not much but it's a whole lot better than another TdF rehash.

Rob
And it's an hour longer than the cycle racing coverage on any other network.

The purpose of the thread wasn't to compare OLN to other networks. It was to point out the discrepancy between how they bill themselves as "The Cycling Channel" and how little they actually show. I think Lance and the TdF made them a ton of money, and thats fine, but on thanksgiving I would've loved to have seen a marathon of races I HAVEN'T seen, and there are a lot of them, since OLN really doesn't show much besides the TdF. OLN has a TON of MTB and snowboarding shows, where every other word is "DUDE!", and a great deal of hunting shows, where the relative merits of spaniels versus labradors are exhaustively compared for an entire half hour. I like hunting and MTBing, but someone explain how these shows AREN'T ratings suicide and road racing is? I think bicycle racing would have just as big a niche market as these other shows do, if not more.
Anyway, I just think that comparing OLN's cycling coverage to other networks is completely irrelevant to the fact that it's barely any coverage at all! Dig? But in case there are folks who think I'm just a sour-puss, maybe it would be helpful to turn this thread into a "heads up" board for cycle races, like RobRyb did for the Tour du Faso. I know I'll be watching...

The purpose of the thread wasn't to compare OLN to other networks. It was to point out the discrepancy between how they bill themselves as "The Cycling Channel" and how little they actually show....
Fair point. It's good to lobby OLN for more road racing coverage. But angry attacks aren't effective.

If you add up the total number of HOURS of bicycling coverage they've run it's actually quite a bit, more than enough to give them the right to claim their the bicycling network.

No it's not.

Having stated that, I do agree with the bulk of your post. I dropped OLN after le Tour, and sent them an e-mail message stating why. Even though I love to watch cycling, paying for a year of OLN to watch primarily the TdF is a waste of money. I'll get OLN back in the spring - later if they dump the Giro like they did the Vuelta this year.

Why are they not the cycling network? THEY DO NOT HAVE EVEN ONE, YEAR-LONG, CYCLING SHOW. I would gladly buck-up for the entire year if they even had ONE show devoted to cycling. As it stands, they will get only a few months worth of subscription from me, and they are certainly not the "cycling network" in my book.

I'm baffled as to why they're showing the Tour de Fasa. The don't bother with the Worlds or the Tour of Lombardy but they show this?

While I suppose 40 minutes of an eleven stage race shown a month late is a bit better than nothing, I'm most dissapointed that OLN doesn't have a real commitment to cycling.

Actually I don't know who to be most dissapointed with. OLN or cycling "fans." OLN started out this year with good coverage of Paris Nice and the Giro but dropped everything after the TDF. Obviously the ratings of the spring and early summer races weren't good enough for them to justify continued coverage of anything other than the TDF. In that case it's the fault of every single person who didn't watch anything but the TDF.

I think that OLN should make their niche in Cycling. Just like ESPN did when it first started with NASCAR, and Australian Rules football...

You need to get a niche sport in there, and hope that it blows up... cycling has been getting bigger over the past 6 years or so in America, thanks to more Americans racing in a predominantly European sport.

I think OLN does a good job with people like Kirsten Gum. She represents the novice bike race watcher. They throw her in with Bob Roll, and let her as the questions that many first time watchers are asking as well, like What the deal is with the Peleton, tactics, things like that...

I believe I read that ESPN started sending rule sheets for Australian Rules Football to anyone who asked for them... at first it was a few... then, as the network got bigger, started receieving hundreds a day...

Ya gotta start somewhere... OLN should focus on this in the Summer, and Snowboarding, or Skiing in the Winter...

Jeff

Good God, Kristin Gum? You don't need someone dumb to ask the basic questions! There are PLENTY of professional female cyclists with good knowledge of the sport they could get to ask the questions. If they need dumb people, they could get the cutters to ask them, since that is what the cutters are good for.

OLN is ok. I wanted to cancel, but it's part of my premium channel. But I don't turn it on about 85- 90 % of the year because they don't spend enough time going over the races... except the Tour de France. I enjoy watching the tour, but I would love to see other races... and no Worlds? I thought for sure they'd at least show that.

They did start out strong in the spring doing some of the classics. I used to race home from work on the weekends and watch the classics. Those were some of the best races on tv. I had a good time watching the Giro when I was in town, then went to Italy and was able to see the Giro live, as well as the Tour de Suisse. When I got back, I got to see the Tour. Fine. But after the Tour, it's like cycling doesn't exist. An hour here, a half hour there, and they figure that should tide us over until next spring.

Aaaauuugh. I'm just frustrated. They're mostly inconsistent.

Koffee

I agree with you Koffee... they really should look into some women pro cyclists to get in the booth...

With Kirsten, my guess is that OLN thinks she is:
1)fairly attractive, maybe helps bring more guys in.
2)People can relate to her naivete about the tour, and cycling in general.

For the record, my wife has been watching to Tour mainly, and other races with me since we got together 5 years ago, and she thinks that Kirsten Gum is an asshat who knows nothing abotu cycling. Hell, my wife, probably knows nearly as much, and she could usually give a crap about racing in general

Kirsten Gum is fine. OLN sucks. The coverage is so spotty, I never remember to tune in. They need to devote one night a week to cycling like they used to do on thursdays. And repeat the programs at least a couple of times during the week like they used to. When the cycling programs are so few and far between, they lose their audience. I hope they go out of business, so a new channel can take over, maybe Discovery. I think the skiing coverage will be reduced by an order of magnitude this year like they did cycling. They serve steak!? More like bone and gristle. Yummy, at least we got something to gnaw on! Right...

There are plenty of hot pro racing chicks they could get too. I just can't stand that girl- she's so clueless and obviously dense... she makes a gnat look intelligent.

Koffee

Yeah, well that's what I think about Condolezza Rice.

Me too. ;)

Koffee

FYI OLN doesn't do very many mountain BIKING shows, or snowboarding shows. If you add up the total number of HOURS of bicycling coverage they've run it's actually quite a bit, more than enough to give them the right to claim their the bicycling network. And FYI they are doing pre production work on a weekly "magazine" style cycling show, which I'm sure will meet with no one's approval because they didn't do wire to wire coverage of the Junior Regional Championship from Ghana.

Unless there is some amorphous, vacuum filled world you live in, in which your TV only gets OLN, it's absolutely relevant to compare them to others, especially when the thread is about HOW BAD THEY SUCK, a statement that I'm sure was well considered for it's positive effect.

They don't, ESPECIALLY when compared to other networks.

Are they as good as they could be? Not if money was no object.

What folks forget is they have to turn a profit. Every time they broadcast one of the major events (TDF, Etc) they have to fork over a bunch of money for the broadcast rights and video feeds. Then you have studio costs for Bobke and such. For hunting shows and the like in most cases the producers are required to go hunt up their own sponsors if they want to be broadcast, or make $$$. You're talking single cam production to tape, one guy holding the camera.

The rating number required to pull in sponsors to pay for the TDF and the like are quite high by the usual OLN standards. Lance's post cancer success has been able to generate those numbers, and has been a boon to the TDF in general.

It would be far more productive to drop OLN a note THANKING them for their current coverage and asking for more, telling them you watch every show, then making suggestions for improvements, rather than "counting the ways" in which they supposedly SUCK and running them down on a public forum. It's like holding your breath till you turn blue. Slightly amusing, but only in the sense of a public display of immaturity and an obvious obliviousness to cause and effect.

It's discouraging that hard core cyclists can't be bothered to go to OLN's website, click on the big "CYCLING" icon, and find out that the Tour d Faso is going to be broadcast. Instead, you found out about it on a thread about how OLN SUCKs while complaining about a lack of coverage. Hello? There's a word for this: ironic.
Calm down, son, it's just the internet.

Yeah, well that's what I think about Condolezza Rice.

Haha, snap.

A funny article about OLN. (http://www.theonionavclub.com/feature/index.php?issue=4048&f=2)

A funny article about OLN. (http://www.theonionavclub.com/feature/index.php?issue=4048&f=2)
They forgot OLN's alternative schedule:

8:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's First TDF victory
8:30 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Second TDF victory
9:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Third TDF victory
9:30 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Fourth TDF victory
10:00 Lance Armstrong, "God" or merely "a god."
10:30 Lance Armstrong, He Survived Cancer, You Know
11:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Fifth TDF victory
11:30 Lance Armstrong, He's Dating A Rock Star
12:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Sixth TDF victory (1 hour special)
1:00 Lance Armstrong Discusses his Favorite Coffee
1:30 Cycling races other than the TDF
1:35 Cycling races that Lance is not in
1:40 Cyclists not named "Lance"
1:45 Lance Armstrong goes to the Bathroom
2:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Sixth TDF victory (1 hour special) (repeat)
3:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's First TDF victory (repeat)
3:30 Lance Armstrong, "God" or merely "a god." (repeat)
4:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Second TDF victory (repeat)
4:30 Lance Armstrong Discusses his Favorite Coffee (repeat)
5:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Third TDF victory (repeat)
5:30 Simeoni is a Big Fat Losing Whining Liar
6:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Fourth TDF victory (repeat)
6:30 Lance Armstrong, He Survived Cancer, You Know (repeat)
7:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Fifth TDF victory (repeat)
7:30 Lance Armstrong, He's Dating A Rock Star (repeat)
8:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Sixth TDF victory (1 hour special) (repeat)
9:00 Simeoni is a Big Fat Losing Whining Liar (repeat)

I'm sure some of you will catch the names of programs that I missed.

10:30 Lance Armstrong, He Survived Cancer, You Know


LOL. Thanks for the good laugh. :)

A funny article about OLN. (http://www.theonionavclub.com/feature/index.php?issue=4048&f=2)


Try the Outdoor Life Network, a 24/7 cycle of frugal productions that balance a love of the outdoors with an utter contempt for nature. While the pansies at The Nature Channel or Animal Planet are off observing the wild, the folks at OLN are doing something about it, whether blasting away with double-barreled shotguns or traversing land and sea in souped-up stock cars, "super boats," and all-terrain vehicles.

:roflmao:

They forgot OLN's alternative schedule:

8:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's First TDF victory
8:30 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Second TDF victory
9:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Third TDF victory
9:30 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Fourth TDF victory
10:00 Lance Armstrong, "God" or merely "a god."
10:30 Lance Armstrong, He Survived Cancer, You Know
11:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Fifth TDF victory
11:30 Lance Armstrong, He's Dating A Rock Star
12:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Sixth TDF victory (1 hour special)
1:00 Lance Armstrong Discusses his Favorite Coffee
1:30 Cycling races other than the TDF
1:35 Cycling races that Lance is not in
1:40 Cyclists not named "Lance"
1:45 Lance Armstrong goes to the Bathroom
2:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Sixth TDF victory (1 hour special) (repeat)
3:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's First TDF victory (repeat)
3:30 Lance Armstrong, "God" or merely "a god." (repeat)
4:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Second TDF victory (repeat)
4:30 Lance Armstrong Discusses his Favorite Coffee (repeat)
5:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Third TDF victory (repeat)
5:30 Simeoni is a Big Fat Losing Whining Liar
6:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Fourth TDF victory (repeat)
6:30 Lance Armstrong, He Survived Cancer, You Know (repeat)
7:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Fifth TDF victory (repeat)
7:30 Lance Armstrong, He's Dating A Rock Star (repeat)
8:00 Re-live Lance Armstrong's Sixth TDF victory (1 hour special) (repeat)
9:00 Simeoni is a Big Fat Losing Whining Liar (repeat)

I'm sure some of you will catch the names of programs that I missed.

Good stuff, man. :lol:

But I can tell you have a lot of serious time on your hands, huh? ;)

Koffee

Good stuff, man. :lol:

But I can tell you have a lot of serious time on your hands, huh? ;)

Koffee
Thanks. I think. To avoid a thread jack, I started thread that people could add to (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=77723).

You know what sucks about OLN? People that complain about it when it's the only cycling on TV. Lame.

If your Sidis stink you might not want to admit it because they are your only pair of bike shoes. OLN has been riding without socks. Phew!