SKY to sponser GB cycling team

GroupOfOne MkII

Yeah I think ITV4 in particular is doing an excellent job at the moment, and they seem to a) get better and b) have more races/coverage by year, so it'd be a shame to see them lose out after actually being prepared to make an investment before it seems cycling became 'fashionable'.

afx237vi

LincolnImp wrote:

This is very bad news for our sport!. I can see the Track racing going to Sky as a result of this deal. Lets hope Eurosport and ITV 4 can keep hold of the races they have.
Big mistake British Cycling no good will come of this.

Wait, so instead of track racing getting a significant financial boost, as well as regular coverage on TV (albeit subscription TV), you'd rather it get no cash boost and extremely little coverage on TV.

AFAIK, ITV4 show precisely no (zero, zip, nada) track racing and Eurosport only show the Worlds. BBC show the Worlds and possibly some highlights from the Manchester WC.

If - a big if - Sky ever think about showing track cycling on Sky Sports, how can that possibly be a bad thing? Why can't they do for track cycling what they've done for (for example) speedway? They brought that sport virtually back from the dead - gave it a whole new audience and continue to give it good coverage on TV all year.

iainf72

afx237vi wrote:

a big if - Sky ever think about showing track cycling on Sky Sports, how can that possibly be a bad thing?

They could reduce the amount of coverage of bass fishing programs. That would be terrible.

afx237vi

iainf72 wrote:

afx237vi wrote:

a big if - Sky ever think about showing track cycling on Sky Sports, how can that possibly be a bad thing?

They could reduce the amount of coverage of bass fishing programs. That would be terrible.

During a dull moment in the TDF a few days ago I was seriously tempted to change channel and watch Fish-O-Mania. I tuned in for a few seconds, but then saw it was Celebrity Fish-O-Mania (seriously), so stuck with the Tour.

Richrd2205

sicrow wrote:

Doobz you make the most important point - B*****cks to anyone who thinks its a bad idea, it's money to cycling in the UK - whatever people think about the premier league it 's the best (even if my beloved city aren't yet) and that's down to SKY

Money coming in will only be good and if you follow the path by rights we will donimate cycling in 5 years and evryone will complain about over paid stars and it's unfair capitalism

Money is is good for the whole sport

Rant over

Aye, like the money was great for cricket, I've seen the results improve so much, everyone is interested now & no English players are about to defect to other places for more money...

Money is a long way for the be all & end all of it.

That said, if the money comes without strings, no sponsor is likely to be significantly more evil than the next, but I'll bow to Treize Vents' knowledge on this one (& far better postings than mine too...)

graeme_s-2

Sky are sponsoring British Cycling. Do British Cycling have any influence on how the TV broadcast rights are distributed in the UK for events like the World Track Championships, or is that entirely down to the UCI who run the event? Why would Sky pay one lot of money out to sponsor the team, and then another lot out to make sure the only place you see their logos is on their own channels. Why advertise a product and then make sure that the only people who see it are people who are already paying for it.

They could buy the rights to show international track cycling and then plaster their logos all over their own sports channels without having to give British Cycling a penny.

I noticed a quarter page advert in one of the papers today, had a Union Jack coloured Sky logo, and then a shot of the mens pursuit team on the track, with a British Cycling logo at the bottom of the ad. Nice to see them so keen to promote this so quickly.

Philip S

I may be missing something, but surely Sky sponsoring one team in either a race or a track championship does not secure for them the sole broadcasting rights of the event? Granted, ITV and BBC might not like having to call a British team the Sky team, but they've happily called road race teams by their sponsor's name, and in World Championships, Olympics etc they'll be able to call it the British team, thereby avoiding advertising their rival...

Kafka\'s Doll

Philip S wrote:

I may be missing something, but surely Sky sponsoring one team in either a race or a track championship does not secure for them the sole broadcasting rights of the event? Granted, ITV and BBC might not like having to call a British team the Sky team, but they've happily called road race teams by their sponsor's name, and in World Championships, Olympics etc they'll be able to call it the British team, thereby avoiding advertising their rival...

Quite right. In any case the Tour de France is tied to the European Broadcasting Union until 2014. Sky won't be covering it any time soon.

leguape

Kafka\'s Doll wrote:

Philip S wrote:

I may be missing something, but surely Sky sponsoring one team in either a race or a track championship does not secure for them the sole broadcasting rights of the event? Granted, ITV and BBC might not like having to call a British team the Sky team, but they've happily called road race teams by their sponsor's name, and in World Championships, Olympics etc they'll be able to call it the British team, thereby avoiding advertising their rival...

Quite right. In any case the Tour de France is tied to the European Broadcasting Union until 2014. Sky won't be covering it any time soon.

EBU deals with all ASO events doesn't it and then individual broadcasts choose what level of rights they want to acquire? I really should know the answer

squired

As a developmental tool, the money from Sky could prove vital in taking British cycling to the next level. They can't just rely on Olympic grant funding (or whatever it is called). As for the sport itself, what it really needs is to be on terrestrial tv so that it can build up a following.

As a kid I got into cricket through watching the Ashes one summer on the BBC and watching the 40 overs matches every Sunday on BBC 2. They became essential viewing for my brother and I. I'm sure many others have similar stories about how they got interested in cricket.

Now, lets look at cycling. How are young kids going to get into the sport? The Tour de France finishes just as they go into their summer holiday, so that doesn't matter. Pro races happen all over the place (weekdays/weekends), so there is no real pattern to follow (unlike football). Although the standard wouldn't be great I think a series of UK races on the BBC or ITV at weekends would get kids interested. If it was on Sky it would probably just be missed or be second choice to the friendly between Manchester United and the Botswana Boot-lickers, or whatever other footy game is on.

robmanic1

Celebrity track cycling on ice, in the jungle, get me out of here, anyone?

Kafka\'s Doll

leguape wrote:

Kafka\'s Doll wrote:

Philip S wrote:

I may be missing something, but surely Sky sponsoring one team in either a race or a track championship does not secure for them the sole broadcasting rights of the event? Granted, ITV and BBC might not like having to call a British team the Sky team, but they've happily called road race teams by their sponsor's name, and in World Championships, Olympics etc they'll be able to call it the British team, thereby avoiding advertising their rival...

Quite right. In any case the Tour de France is tied to the European Broadcasting Union until 2014. Sky won't be covering it any time soon.

EBU deals with all ASO events doesn't it and then individual broadcasts choose what level of rights they want to acquire? I really should know the answer

True. But it would be unusual for Sky to relay someone else's coverage. And, if they did, we wouldn't see any of the 'innovations' that people might expect from them, because they won't be in control of the cameras. Or even the on screen graphics and what not.