2025 Race Talk

1/28/2025 6:22am Edited Date/Time 1/28/2025 6:24am

HBO Max isn't an option in UK? 

edit: seems like the Max + eurosport deal is only in nordic countries

1/28/2025 10:31am

Is Eurosport Player/Discovery+/whatever-online-platform still available in France etc? That plus a VPN is something I'd be interested in.

1/28/2025 11:52am Edited Date/Time 1/28/2025 11:54am
Mechanism wrote:

Is Eurosport Player/Discovery+/whatever-online-platform still available in France etc? That plus a VPN is something I'd be interested in.

France, like the Nordics also has the HBO Max offer. Same for most of Western Europe (except UK & IRL)

 

rEs
Posts
26
Joined
1/5/2016
Location
GB
1/28/2025 10:55pm
Finkill wrote:
Not sure if this is UK only but WBD are moving cycling coverage to the TNT sports channel from Eurosport, meaning the monthly subscription is increasing...

Not sure if this is UK only but WBD are moving cycling coverage to the TNT sports channel from Eurosport, meaning the monthly subscription is increasing from £6.99 to £30.99. A huge increase which will put a lot of people off watching the world cups. https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/eurosport-is-closing-down-in-the-uk-cycling-is-about-to-get-a-lot-more-expensive-to-watch 

zundawg23 wrote:
Is it still gonna be on discovery plus? Cus the downhill hardly got on Eurosport live so I doubt it'll be on TNT, especially live. I...

Is it still gonna be on discovery plus? Cus the downhill hardly got on Eurosport live so I doubt it'll be on TNT, especially live. I get discovery plus free with my sky package so hopefully it's still on there, that's the only reason I still watch ahaha

oliewood wrote:
"Customers who use the Discovery+ app will also witness a price hike, and will have to swap from the standard £6.99 a month package to the...

"Customers who use the Discovery+ app will also witness a price hike, and will have to swap from the standard £6.99 a month package to the £30.99 premium package if they want to continue to watch live cycling."

Balls (never mind paying a bit, but that’s a lot!)

Primoz
Posts
3715
Joined
8/1/2009
Location
SI
1/29/2025 2:38am

It is. My Internet subscription is less than that... 

1/29/2025 11:12am

Downhill Rockies announced the season schedule. Thanks Jeremiah and team! (If any of them are in here)

IMG 5345 0
8
Simcik
Posts
382
Joined
8/1/2009
Location
Loma, CO US
1/29/2025 12:15pm
Downhill Rockies announced the season schedule. Thanks Jeremiah and team! (If any of them are in here)

Downhill Rockies announced the season schedule. Thanks Jeremiah and team! (If any of them are in here)

IMG 5345 0

So cool to see! One of these days I need to get back on a DH rig and see some old friends. 

3
1/29/2025 12:42pm

I had the discovery channels free with my Sky deal as well so I saw all the world cups the last couple of seasons. 

I certainly won't be paying for TNT at that price to watch this year.

At the end of the day it was UCIs product to sell. Warner are doing what suits them but UCI is the one to blame for not renewing the deal with Red Bull.

The Red Bull deal worked for the supporters. Free coverage. 

Just how are the Elite World Cup riders like Bruni and Pierron going to feel when nobody is watching their races on TV .

If Red Bull are showing crankworks and other races for free then surely the hype is going to grow around  those races. And hype and eyeballs are what the sponsors want. 

I'm sure something  good will come from the lessons learned over the next few years  but careers are short. Bruni, Pom Pom and Amaury and Vergier probably  don't have too many years left at their peak and I'm going to miss seeing them race this season

 

3
1/29/2025 1:03pm

As of September 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported $40.21 billion in debt, while Walt Disney reported $45.82 billion in debt.

Using massive debt to buy exclusive rights then charging more than many people are willing to pay doesn't seem ideal.

10
Simcik
Posts
382
Joined
8/1/2009
Location
Loma, CO US
1/29/2025 2:32pm
Mechanism wrote:
As of September 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported $40.21 billion in debt, while Walt Disney reported $45.82 billion in debt.Using massive debt to buy...

As of September 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported $40.21 billion in debt, while Walt Disney reported $45.82 billion in debt.

Using massive debt to buy exclusive rights then charging more than many people are willing to pay doesn't seem ideal.

Nah, smart business! There is certainly plenty of mountain bikers who will pay enough to cover the losses of both of those businesses. 🤣

500 million mountain bikers paying $30 per month for 6 months and it breaks even. 

3
jeff.brines
Posts
920
Joined
8/29/2010
Location
Grand Junction, CO US
1/29/2025 4:30pm
Downhill Rockies announced the season schedule. Thanks Jeremiah and team! (If any of them are in here)

Downhill Rockies announced the season schedule. Thanks Jeremiah and team! (If any of them are in here)

IMG 5345 0

Mountain States Cup vibes

2
jeff.brines
Posts
920
Joined
8/29/2010
Location
Grand Junction, CO US
1/29/2025 4:40pm
Mechanism wrote:
As of September 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported $40.21 billion in debt, while Walt Disney reported $45.82 billion in debt.Using massive debt to buy...

As of September 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported $40.21 billion in debt, while Walt Disney reported $45.82 billion in debt.

Using massive debt to buy exclusive rights then charging more than many people are willing to pay doesn't seem ideal.

Both companies still make money. While I don't love the streaming business model for a lot of reasons, I think its a lot more complicated than we're boiling it down to here. Ignoring Disney for a second, WBD is kicking off over $5B in free cash flow per year, and adjusted EBIDTA of over $2B. Not saying all their moves are genius, and I'm pretty indifferent to the WC coverage, but its worth noting that not all leverage is bad leverage. 

1
1/30/2025 11:49am
I had the discovery channels free with my Sky deal as well so I saw all the world cups the last couple of seasons. I certainly won't...

I had the discovery channels free with my Sky deal as well so I saw all the world cups the last couple of seasons. 

I certainly won't be paying for TNT at that price to watch this year.

At the end of the day it was UCIs product to sell. Warner are doing what suits them but UCI is the one to blame for not renewing the deal with Red Bull.

The Red Bull deal worked for the supporters. Free coverage. 

Just how are the Elite World Cup riders like Bruni and Pierron going to feel when nobody is watching their races on TV .

If Red Bull are showing crankworks and other races for free then surely the hype is going to grow around  those races. And hype and eyeballs are what the sponsors want. 

I'm sure something  good will come from the lessons learned over the next few years  but careers are short. Bruni, Pom Pom and Amaury and Vergier probably  don't have too many years left at their peak and I'm going to miss seeing them race this season

 

"no one is watching" UK/Ireland you mean, plenty of people still watching.

And lets face it, this was coming all along and yes it will come to rest of the world too at some point, just like every other sport. Hockey (national and NHL), football, NFL, F1, rally, depending on the package deal that's 35-80 euros in Finland, so in a year or two, DH is just another acronym on that list. Trying to grow something is a bitch, it will make people angry (as it did with those another sports which were much cheaper too at some point) but, it has to be done to make money and evolve.

For the meantime, I'm happy for my 5 euro hbo max deal and will most likely pay when the time comes at some point.

2
4
sspomer
Posts
4998
Joined
6/26/2009
Location
Boise, ID US
1/31/2025 8:21am

RACER trailer about amaury and myriam by sleeper. looks sick!

4
1/31/2025 1:07pm

Sleeper edit no more to say , just can't wait for the full video. when you have some injuries and are interest in downhill you can only admire this athlete for such dedication.

sspomer
Posts
4998
Joined
6/26/2009
Location
Boise, ID US
1/31/2025 7:24pm

jewett bros on a testing lap (kinda racing related, right?)

2
Eoin
Posts
267
Joined
3/6/2015
Location
FR
2/1/2025 11:32am

Racing related: first footage I've seen of Goldstone in a while, I know it's a play lap, but my god the kid can just do anything at anytime. One of the sickest follow cams I've seen!

casey79
Posts
286
Joined
3/21/2010
Location
AU
2/2/2025 12:35am Edited Date/Time 2/2/2025 12:57am

After picking up a few local Australian sponsors Dean Lucas signed up for a local DH race as his swan song. Didn’t end up as planned. 

casey79
Posts
286
Joined
3/21/2010
Location
AU
2/2/2025 12:59am
casey79 wrote:
After picking up a few local Australian sponsors Dean Lucas signed up for a local DH race as his swan song. Didn’t end up as planned. 

After picking up a few local Australian sponsors Dean Lucas signed up for a local DH race as his swan song. Didn’t end up as planned. 

Damage

IMG 7595 1
brash
Posts
753
Joined
4/24/2019
Location
AU
2/2/2025 12:55pm

he will live to podcast again

2
Eae903
Posts
153
Joined
10/20/2023
Location
Laramie, WY US
2/2/2025 1:22pm Edited Date/Time 2/2/2025 1:25pm
casey79 wrote:
After picking up a few local Australian sponsors Dean Lucas signed up for a local DH race as his swan song. Didn’t end up as planned. 

After picking up a few local Australian sponsors Dean Lucas signed up for a local DH race as his swan song. Didn’t end up as planned. 

casey79 wrote:
Damage

Damage

IMG 7595 1

Damn, that's broken and separated. That will be a rough one to recover from. 

Post a reply to: 2025 Race Talk

The Latest