Eurosport /RCS

iainf72

They've signed a 4 year deal to show all of RCS's races.

Super

rick_chasey

Great.

Have a source at sky sports telling me that they've bought the rights to some cycling races.

Have invested a future beer to discover what is actually going on.

LeicesterLad

Rick Chasey wrote:

Great.

Have a source at sky sports telling me that they've bought the rights to some cycling races.

Have invested a future beer to discover what is actually going on.

I hope this isn't true.

greasedscotsman

Rick Chasey wrote:

Have a source at sky sports telling me that they've bought the rights to some cycling races.

This kinda worries me a bit. I'll pay for Sky so I can get Eurosport, but I don't want to have to pay even more to get Sky Sports as well. Suppose it depends on what races we're talking about.

iainf72

It would make sense if they'd bought rights to WCS races

Coz cycling fans love new races

dab_32

I think we have to accept cycling will end up on Sky. They sponsor one of the biggest teams in the peloton, they want them on their channels, especially given there is questionable coverage at the moment with schedules changing all the time.

iainf72

dab_32 wrote:

I think we have to accept cycling will end up on Sky. They sponsor one of the biggest teams in the peloton, they want them on their channels, especially given there is questionable coverage at the moment with schedules changing all the time.

There are a number of barriers to Sky having it, not least the fact most races must be on free to air channels.

I don't expect we'll see any races of historical importance on Sky. New WCS races, yes.

dab_32

There are a number of barriers to Sky having it, not least the fact most races must be on free to air channels.

I don't expect we'll see any races of historical importance on Sky. New WCS races, yes.

Is that a UCI directive? Who stipulates this?

If that's the case then fair enough but money talks and Sky have a lot of it. These sorts agreements generally have to be renewed every so often, the BBC almost lost Wimbledon last year but gave up F1 instead. It's not a forgone conclusion but unfortunately Sky generally get what they want by flashing the cash.

If the international games of the country's national sport can be Sky exclusive, pretty much any sport can I reckon. Although they may share it with Eurosport, leave the Grand Tours shared and take some other events exclusive to start with.

pat1cp

iainf72 wrote:

dab_32 wrote:

I think we have to accept cycling will end up on Sky. They sponsor one of the biggest teams in the peloton, they want them on their channels, especially given there is questionable coverage at the moment with schedules changing all the time.

There are a number of barriers to Sky having it, not least the fact most races must be on free to air channels.

I don't expect we'll see any races of historical importance on Sky. New WCS races, yes.

That was the "model" for F1 Iain, and look what happened there...

tailwindhome

Buying up F1 and football will/has generate new subscribers. I'm not sure buying cycling would generate significant numbers of new subscribers...

iainf72

It's the European Broadcasting Union. They distribute the broadcast rights and one of the thing in the deal with the races is it's free to air channels.

If you think of the model of cycling, it makes sense. Teams are advertising a product so you want as many people to see it as possible.

pat1cp

TailWindHome wrote:

Buying up F1 and football will/has generate new subscribers. I'm not sure buying cycling would generate significant numbers of new subscribers...

I was refering to the marketing model. The teams gain sponsors which fund pretty much everythng, they then achieve as much exposure as they can with the races being aired on free to view channels.

Bernie and Rupert pretty much ripped that up without asking anyone. I suspect it could happen again (replace Bernie with Pat).

Pross

Glad to see more races signed up long term by ES, let's hope they actually show them and don't delay coverage so we can watch highlights of a motorbike race or similar.

On the Sky taking cycling rights debate I'm a bit torn. I don't want to spend even more on my Sky subscription, I've managed to give up Sky Sports. I certainly wouldn't pay for coverage spread over the 4 channels like they have done with rugby. However, if Sky were in charge of the pictures and had a specific channel like with F1 I'd be tempted as there are races out there that are worthy of far better coverage than they currently get and most are only available in dodgy feeds or very limited highlights packages.

prawny

To be honest, if Eurosport keep hold of all the races they have at the moment and add more with this new deal I wont have time to watch any more cycling anyway. I've still got Langkawi on the Sky+ box waiting to be watched and I won't have time to watch that for a bit with Paris-Nice and Tirreno. I'll have to pack my job in.

rick_chasey

Flanders, Roubaix, Paris Nice

jane90

iainf72 wrote:

It's the European Broadcasting Union. They distribute the broadcast rights and one of the thing in the deal with the races is it's free to air channels.

If you think of the model of cycling, it makes sense. Teams are advertising a product so you want as many people to see it as possible.

This was undoubtedly true in the past in the era of analogue transmission but it will be increasingly less so in the future of multichannel digital broadcasting where audiences across the board, not just for sports events, will be more fragmented.

As of 2012, BSkyB accounted for 9.4 million households in the UK, compared to 10 million households who receive digital terrestrial only. 2 million who receive freesat and just under 4 million receive cable subscribers (mostly Virgin). Sky's market penetration in the UK is increasing year-on-year.

A commercial sponsor of any sport will have to weigh up conflicting priorities when considering broadcast platforms, only one of which will be the global audience numbers, especially when we move away from a mainly free-to-air model towards a subscription one and the subsription household numbers cease to be ghettoised. There are enormous benefits to a sponsor when a sport is broadcast in depth across a range of dedicated channels and transmission scheduling needn't be shoehorned or truncated. They might make the judgement that it is in their commercial interests to broadcast on a digital subscription channel available to, say, 70% of the population if that platform can deliver quality content, not just of the events themselves but all the magazine programs around the sport that contribute to the audience involvement of the personalities and stars of the sport.

greasedscotsman

Rick Chasey wrote:

Flanders, Roubaix, Paris Nice

?

rick_chasey

Swhat sky have apparently bought rights to.

iainf72

Rick Chasey wrote:

Swhat sky have apparently bought rights to.

THe ASO raced come as a bundle, don't they?

http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/ebu_ ... ling_deal/

rick_chasey

*shrugs* the guy seems clueless to cycling and my middle man is gormless too.

I tried my best.

Richmond Racer

Rick Chasey wrote:

Swhat sky have apparently bought rights to.

Well, they did say they wanted to do better in the Classics....

Pross

greasedscotsman wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Flanders, Roubaix, Paris Nice

?

I assumed it was a game of odd one out