sdmc530

Well this really sucks!

Not only my only outlet for the tour that is free but a few hockey games as well. I never get to see my team play unless on NBC Sports a handful times a year.

I might after to pickup the gold app now. This sucks big time. I hate all the pay for streaming services. Its a huge joke!

bikecrate

I do watch Tizcycling for most of the races, but I have paid for the cycling pass on NBS Sports Gold. I like Phil, Bob and the gang. Not perfect, but they are like a warm blanket. I also thought the commentators, Anthony McCrossan and Hannah Walker, on the Vuelta were really good this past year.

msu2001la

Seems likely that NBC (which owns TDF broadcast rights through 2023) will just move bike racing to Peacock, and show key stages/recap/highlights on NBC or USA.

Bike racing is fairly niche and with few prominent American contenders in the pro peloton, it's likely a tough sell for US advertisers. I'm not really surprised by this move.

Snotrub

I liked Anthony and Hannah in the Vuelta coverage. I also heard Anthony solo on a few races, can't remember which ones. I couldn't believe he would provide commentary for hours on end without a break. At least with Hannah there, they could both step out and go to the bathroom when needed.

Greyhounds

I too thought that Hannah did a great job supporting Ant. That girl knew her stuff. She could speak very intelligently about any topic he threw at her, even some pretty techie stuff.

NJgreyhead

My TdF watching used to be via NBC Sports Gold, but that was spendy, and it became a real snooze (literally) watching for hours each day. After 2 years, I dropped the sub.
Daily 15-20 minute recaps on Youtube are sufficient for me.

I am curious about how much things will really change, since NBC owns USA network, also part of my current cable package.

At the moment I am enjoying the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona on NBCSN, just before dawn. Many hours of coverage. I hope that stays. And I like the NHL games.

HeyItsSara

I did not realize you tube has that! thank you!!

Joe Bikerider

What I watch on NBCSN is English soccer. And if today is any indication I’m screwed. No soccer at all. I did sign up for Peacock since it’s offered for free by Comcast but It sucks. As I understand it this streaming service operates like this: I cannot record any shows and I have to watch the games at the time they are presented. Am I missing something? I even had my local teenager try to figure it out. Please advise. Thanks.

skidder

Does your local NBC affiliate station, the one that does 'over the air' broadcasting in the Bay area, show the Premier League games? They do that here in Los Angeles on Saturday and Sunday mornings before the college football and basketball games get started (and pro BB/football on Sunday). Its limited to Saturday/Sunday, but one of my brothers is a soccer fan and watches it every weekend if there's a top-rank game showing even if it starts at 2AM PCT (10AM in London).

2cam16

This. They do broadcast the EPL on NBC Bay Area on weekends but only a couple of matches.

ExPatTyke

I don't know if you can get ITV4 Stateside, but they've got daily highlights of Paris-Nice and the Vuelta, and live coverage of the Tour this year.

Quest have had a daily Giro highlights show for the last two seasons.

Both channels are free to air in the UK, and can be viewed live or on demand via the itvplayer and Discovery+ apps.

Marcus_Ti

Sadly, none of those channels are offered here.

Ironically...Eurosport is owned/operated by Discovery Channel. But Discovery has made the business choice, in the US market, to rebroadcast ZERO of their sports channels--educational content only.

AMGwagon

Just become a rich aristocrat who can go to the events live. Or do what I do and imagine them.

The Clumsy Oaf

I get my racing from the Lantern Rouge YouTube channel.
Stategy analysis, dry Australian wit, free.
What's not to like?

Bill in VA

Not a fan of NBC in any way, EXCEPT NBC-SN. We watch the grand tours, cyclocross, Worlds, especially the track sections, and biathlon, archery, curling (yes, curling) and baseball. The wife watches the golf channel, while I watch paint dry... We get the baseball on a local cable station. My sister got NBC Gold and really liked it for the cycling.

Sunwukong

Like many here, NBC SN was my one pay for view sports extravagance. Got hooked on the Tour with my kids in 99. Followed it ever since. My heroes are gone. Teams gone. Watching at the local bar gone. My kids once saw a live stage in Monaco. Probably never again, gone. Cycling is still the best sport and the Tour always delivers. Thanks for the viewing tips going forward.

Toespeas

the illunimati does want us to watch bike races anymore , or at all , at least in the USA , i have to go on the dark web just to get CX races and the announcers are always speaking elvish

rutan74

Just get a sub to an IPTV service and a Firestick. Mine costs me 15 a month for 4 feeds. I get about 3,000 channels. I pay by the month. No contracts. It is cheaper if you pay for 3-6 or 12 month sub but I am fine with 15 a month. I have had it since last summer. With a VPN, I can get Eurosport 1 and 2 plus about anything else you can think of. I can get feeds from all over the world so it has worked pretty good for the last 10 months for me. Little to no buffering either if you have a 35+mb Wi-Fi connection. And yes, I can stream 4k if it is available.

john

HeyItsSara

I don't get what's happening. they said they're not having it anymore but indeed I am watching TDF even as we speak on the same channel I always have, 212, NBCSH, it's the same 2 Chrises plus the regular announcers announcing the race and adam on the bike.

am I high or what?

jaxgtr

That's different from the streaming bit. The streaming side is only on Peacock.

rsbob 

Illuminate? It is purely a business decision. No conspiracy, no subversion, no secret society of elites, just money.

Lazyass

Ratings for sports in general has tanked. If sports leagues relied on ratings for survival many would be in serious trouble but they make their money from contracts with cable companies. Same with cable news networks. If you have cable you keep them alive even if you don't watch it.

The last game of the 1998 NBA finals had 36 million viewers. The last game of the 2020 NBA finals, with everyone stuck at home had 8 million viewers which was the lowest in history. Game 3 actually had just 4 million. The 2021 Super Bowl with Brady going for his 7th win with a new team and everyone locked down at home had the lowest rating in 52 years.

What's interesting is when the virus broke out and the lockdowns started the media was saying sports ratings would be at record highs but it was the complete opposite.

NJgreyhead

Post #1 said the shutdown was to happen by the end of 2021.

Lazyass

Well I don't get political and Fox will never be on my TV again but in about week 4 of the NFL season last year when it was undeniable what was happening all the news and sports networks simultaneously had a blackout on reporting about the protests when it had been the main stories promoting it and it hasn't hardly been mentioned since. The players are no longer asked questions about it. And last October (about the same time) the NBA commissioner basically admitted it was the cause of the historic rating tank and said the social justice messaging would be removed for this season.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/n...020-21-season/

livedarklions

The trends in declining ratings for sports long predate any of this, and I don't see anything in your article that "basically admits" anything of the kind.

The issue really is that viewership for pretty much any event is down as streaming has converted TV watching almost entirely to an "on demand" activity. I think generational habits were ingrained when lots of people watched sports events because there was "nothing better on", and you're now getting entire generations of people who never developed that habit.

It's not just sports, btw. Back 25 years ago, I remember that I really didn't know too many people who DIDN'T watch the Oscars. Now I don't know anyone who watches more than a few minutes of it.