Iride01 

NBC's constant moving of where and how they show cycling events in the USA has broken the last straw for me. Though I probably lasted longer than many of you others.

So today for my own satisfaction, I wrote the ASO and ask them to consider letting some other entity have the USA broadcast rights of ASO events or at least not give NBC exclusive rights to those events.

Probably won't amount to much. But it made me feel better.

Maybe others doing the same might give ASO pause when it considers the future bids for television broadcast rights of 2023 and beyond.

GrainBrain

Do you watch on cable? It's easier using the peacock app, Christian is getting much much better at presenting, but it's gcn or nothing. Which is too bad because I would like to hear from more Americans doing coverage.

Flobikes has McCrossan which is also unfortunate - him and Robbie used to be great together on the ad free nbc broadcast. Not Americans but I thought they had a good dynamic.

slcbob

Well vented. Though my sense is ASO sells to the highest bidder(s) by viewing region so you're pushing a rope with them. They honestly don't care where of if NBC broadcasts it. Maybe a little on the margins, "global reach" and "our brand" and such, but that doesn't butter the biscuits.

The deciders that matter most for feasible little changes are, I think, NBC themselves and their top cycling sponsors. If you vent again or proselytize a petition, consider including them.

I am newly and a bit surprisingly not anti-Peacock. I watched a few things on Freecock a while back and eventually turned on Paycock for a little bit for a not-cycling-related thing that wasn't available with Freecock.

I was pleasantly surprised to find access to a bunch of things, including the 6 nations rugby games and some cycling races, that come along with the monthly fee. Both of those are things I bought the special NBC Gold packages for in the past. If I ran Paycock all year (which I will not), I would pay them less than I have in the past.

I flipped the NBC coverage on briefly on Sunday morning before I went out for a ride, just to hear Phil and Bob again for old time's sake covering the early kms of P-R. Later in the day, I ran the GCN coverage end to end. No comparison.

Iride01 

I just won't do Peacock. Though there are other things on Peacock that might be interesting, they aren't enough to make me want to give up any of the other things I and my family watch regularly. Peacock would largely be unused except for the cycling events, so it's not a good option for me.

With everyone taking their content to their own exclusive subscription platforms, I'm really curious to see where all this falls out in four or five years.

And don't get me started ranting on Disney! <grin>

slcbob

Last year I think it was Simon Gerrans with him. Maybe McEwen in earlier years. Though Ant is often a one man show.

It's weird how the things get repackaged. Everyone has the same video, from the race organizer. Then the commentators do their thing, which is often fed to multiple broadcasters. I know I've heard McCrossan on at least two different econo-broadcasts for the same race at the same time. And the current GCN folks are doing both ad-free GCN and ad-ful Eurosport audiences, meta-commentating about it as the latter come and go.

boozergut

Peacock is great. They also have good coverage of the Premier League as well as other sports we dont normally get to see in the USA. The big events are offered for replay so you can watch them whenever.

blacknbluebikes 

I looked at GCN+ this morning, appears that they won't have TdF... am I reading that right?

slcbob

Yes and no.
They have le Tour live and on Demand through a lot of the world. But not in the USA.
It is very easy to visit other countries by VPN to navigate geo-restrictions.
Mrs. slcbob vastly prefers Orla on the sofa to Bobke, so that's where we'll be.

When you're in the GCN app's RaceTV section, it now seems to only show you the races you can watch. Previously, it would show you all the races they had but then tell you couldn't see it when you tried to view it. Progress, I guess.

cyclezen

Not crazy about NBC, but it's the only game in town when it comes to Skiing, Alpine, XC and Biathlon. Thankfully Peacock is bringing most all of the winter events, and not always by their commentators... Only commentator I appreciate is Steve Porino (also ex-downhiller) who has been the cycling 'moto guy', until just this spring ... he's learning cycling quickly...
Otherwise the usual stand-in of commentators without 'Cred' has a flow of weak knowledge.
Still, it's nice to have the entire winter season available 'on demand', along with CX from EU and US...
...hope the current MTB season is as well covered.
FLO is the network which seems to disrupt most things cycling...

Who is Orla ?
Bobke does have Cred, although he's caught in the 'style' of Liggett, which is a shame. When he's with Christian, he does much better.
And yes, Christian is improving, most notably he's slowing down and not stumbling as much, more coherent... Glad to see this.
Yes GCN Race TV 'APP' has been modded to eliminate listing those races not covered in a 'region', like we don't see stuff listed which GCN doesn't have US rights to.
BUT, their Race TV internet/computer based connector still shows ALL of their content, and then throws up the 'red page' of 'not available in your region' when you come to a race which they can;t show in the US...
... I need to get a new account and make sure it's connected via VPN, when signing....
I did use a VPN earlier. many months back, but because my account was originally posted via a US IP, my account is now somehow flagged 'US', and even on a VPN I see only US rights content.... bummer..
Ride On
Yuri

slcbob

Orla Chennoui (or close to that) is an Irish former athlete turned BBC or Eurosport now GCN presenter who emcees the pre- and post-race segments on GCN for the big races. Sort of like Paul Burmeister except good and knowledgeable.

As for the Phil, Bob, CVDV, etc. characters, GCN has a big cast of folks. They do a great job.

I can say that without caveats because I can understand Sean Kelly. It's not particularly marketable, but it's a skill. If you can't, keep watching The Commitments until you follow the dialog. Stuck? Cannonball some Guinness and Jameson. There's a good lad.