It is the talking point that won’t go away. In every cycling group chat I’m in, on every club ride, with anyone as soon as they find out I’m a cycling journalist, the topic comes up: how are you watching cycling now? Have you subscribed to TNT Sports?
It is the same on many of the posts and stories that Cycling Weekly shares at the moment. Forget the momentous news that the UK will host the Tours de France in 2027, the thing on everyone’s mind is how they can watch it on television. It’s understandable.
Eurosport has closed down, ITV will have lost the rights to show the Tour after this summer, so cyclists in the UK are looking at a £31 a month subscription to TNT Sports if they want to watch the season unfold on TV. If you want to watch the Tour of Flanders this weekend in the UK, that’s what it will cost you through a Discovery+ subscription.
The new reality for fans in the UK and Ireland is a similar scenario to the experience had by pro cycling nuts in the US - it is more expensive, or trickier, to access the sport. Fans elsewhere, away from the heartlands of Belgium, France and Italy particularly, might do well to enjoy their free coverage whilst they have it.
If you are a subscriber to TNT Sports, as I am, then you might feel a little puzzled. The experience of watching seems largely unchanged. For those watching cycling only, Discovery+ is pretty much the same as it was in February. Carlton Kirby, Rob Hatch and the gang are still commentating, with Orla Chennaoui and Adam Blythe in the studio on big days. It doesn’t feel, to me, like 343% more.
Sure, I have access to everything else that TNT provides, but if I wasn’t watching it before, I’m hardly going to start now. I was coping perfectly OK without Champions League football or Premiership rugby, thanks. Cycling is now on the listings along with the bigger sports, but will there really be people tuning into Flanders on TNT Sports 1 on a whim this Sunday? I don’t have high hopes.
The free-to-air ‘Ultimate Cycling Show’ is a new fixture, available on Quest and on Discovery+, but I’m not sure who that’s for either; too niche for people not into cycling, and not niche enough for people who live and breathe the sport. Former rugby union player Ugo Monye and retired track and field athlete Christine Ohuruogu - who appeared on a recent episode - seem like perfectly nice people, but I’m not sure why I need to see them on a cycling show. It seems a little confused, and a sop to the legions of people outraged by the price hike and the rest. There might be some free-to-air highlights, but not of everything; Paris-Roubaix yes, Paris-Roubaix Femmes no; Tour of Flanders no; the men’s Giro d’Italia yes, the Giro d’Italia Women no. It’s irregular and not enough for me.
Those conversations I’m having with friends or acquaintances about watching cycling on TV keep going on, and throw up different results, some people have found deals, others a way to watch without a subscription. Not many seem to be paying full whack for TNT Sports, reflecting the almost 90% of those we polled who said they wouldn’t sign up.
These are the most committed, those determined to either pay or find a way to watch cycling. My fear is for the casual fans, the people who would just switch on Eurosport or ITV4 and enjoy the action at peak times. These people won’t bother with the hassle of watching cycling on TV now. We might have a lost generation.
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If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com, or comment below.
