Part of the reason that OLN has exclusive rights stems from OLN taking a chance on bringing road racing to North America at a time when it was thought to be unpopular. ABC and CBS had been attempting to "introduce" their viewers to this type of cycling with little success. They didn't realize that the way they were cramming it down our throats (a TV technical term) was not the way viewers wanted to see the races. The networks had synopsized, condensed coverage of the week that consisted mostly of graphics, brief highlights and (hey look at my make-up) talking heads.
Along comes OLN and signs deals to bring live and replay coverage with almost what Europe is seeing, and they find the viewership skyrocketing. Several years down the road (now) OLN has a vast following for cycling and doing a relatively good job at it.
I commend them for taking the chance and admire them for their success. If you want to see what coverage was like before OLN, watch the CBS wrap show on weekends. Yuk! (another TV technical phrase)
Signed,
Another pompous know-it-all