UCI XCO World Cup 2022 Season

[Mtbiker404]

How sad was the post show? I do not understand how RB can just sell the sport and discard the commentators. This was something special that should not be ending.

[Hairy]

20 minutes ago, Mtbiker404 said:

How sad was the post show? I do not understand how RB can just sell the sport and discard the commentators. This was something special that should not be ending.

I do not think it was up to RBTV

[ChrisF]

3 minutes ago, Hairy said:

I do not think it was up to RBTV

 

Broadcasting is seriously big business.

 

UCI clearly have a better offer on the table ...

 

I certainly will miss RBtv

[Mtbiker404]

The passion of mtbikers should not be for sale ever! Who gave UCI the right to sell the passion of mountain biking?

[esCape-ist]

18 minutes ago, Mtbiker404 said:

The passion of mtbikers should not be for sale ever! Who gave UCI the right to sell the passion of mountain biking?

The UCI gave it to themeselves, last time I checked they were kind of in charge…

I’m also sad and it was a great show the past few years, but ten years is a good run. As far as I can tell, Red Bull did tender for the new contract, but the UCI chose Discovery Networks over them, and a host of others. 
 

I do think people are worrying for nothing though. In all likelihood, there will still be free coverage like there is now, but it will just be run through GMBN (playsports network, who runs GCN/GMBN/GTN etc is owned by Discovery). They already provided the coverage of EWS for free on GMBN, and part of the changes coming next year is to align EWS more with other UCI MTBing events. 
 

Will miss Rob on commentary though. He has been fired from GMBN once before, so not sure if they will have him back.

 

[Danger Dassie]

51 minutes ago, Mtbiker404 said:

How sad was the post show? I do not understand how RB can just sell the sport and discard the commentators. This was something special that should not be ending.

No one is “just selling the sport and discarding” anything. 

The fact is that the TV rights are held by the governing body, the UCI. RBTV have other projects in the pipeline, some of which might include WC coverage. As Warner alluded to. So it seems the commentary team stays on with RBTV, outside of that they do have other gigs with RBTV as well other stuff. 

No one knows what the actual deal is going forward, the World Cup coverage may even expand with EWS. Chris Ball has some involvement, so that is encouraging at least.

Still, it is the end of an era. Ten years of consistent quality coverage and commentary leaves a substantial legacy to fulfil. Hopefully Discovery Sports step up here and maintain not only the standard and vibe, but also the accessibility. Bigger is not always better, we’ll see though.

[PhilipV]

21 minutes ago, esCape-ist said:

 

Will miss Rob on commentary though. He has been fired from GMBN once before, so not sure if they will have him back.

 

I won't. Certainly not for XCO, and there are better options for DH, like Eliot Jackson and Andrew Neethling. 

[esCape-ist]

14 minutes ago, PhilipV said:

I won't. Certainly not for XCO, and there are better options for DH, like Eliot Jackson and Andrew Neethling. 

Each to their own I guess. I enjoy the energy rob brings to it. If its not your cup of tea, then hopefully you enjoy whoever the replacement is. 

Andrew was a decent rider, but I can’t say I know what his commentary sounds like. What I do know is whoever did Supersports commentary of the world champs two weeks back was absolutely shocking, they managed to turn what was an exciting race, into a snoozfest. I switched over to a VPN to watch on Red Bull halfway through the race.

[Mtbiker404]

Bart and Rob were great XCO commentators, their vibe can not be replaced or improved on. They`ve never even had a slip of the tongue saying "Tom Pidcock"! , like the SA dude did during the XCO Olympics, in the company of a fellow female commentator!

[DieselnDust]

2 hours ago, Mtbiker404 said:

The passion of mtbikers should not be for sale ever! Who gave UCI the right to sell the passion of mountain biking?

Hos

steel is real viva singlespeeders

[Mtbiker404]

5 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Hos

steel is real viva singlespeeders

Steel is real but what is this new age singlespeed thing? Did someone`s derailleur break and then it became a thing? Mtb needs more than 1 gear. Give me back my full rigid steel 21 speed beast!

[Hairy]

18 minutes ago, Mtbiker404 said:

Steel is real but what is this new age singlespeed thing? Did someone`s derailleur break and then it became a thing? Mtb needs more than 1 gear. Give me back my full rigid steel 21 speed beast!

Long live elastomer forks!

[Headshot]

3 hours ago, esCape-ist said:

The UCI gave it to themeselves, last time I checked they were kind of in charge…

I’m also sad and it was a great show the past few years, but ten years is a good run. As far as I can tell, Red Bull did tender for the new contract, but the UCI chose Discovery Networks over them, and a host of others. 
 

I do think people are worrying for nothing though. In all likelihood, there will still be free coverage like there is now, but it will just be run through GMBN (playsports network, who runs GCN/GMBN/GTN etc is owned by Discovery). They already provided the coverage of EWS for free on GMBN, and part of the changes coming next year is to align EWS more with other UCI MTBing events. 
 

Will miss Rob on commentary though. He has been fired from GMBN once before, so not sure if they will have him back.

 

Except that that free coverage is not live broadcast WC DH. Enduro coverage is pretty average and the presenters lack the ability and enthusiasm of Rob W, who despite his faults was able to convey his enthusiasm for the sport and the antics of the rider on track  like no other. 

[esCape-ist]

1 hour ago, Headshot said:

Except that that free coverage is not live broadcast WC DH. Enduro coverage is pretty average and the presenters lack the ability and enthusiasm of Rob W, who despite his faults was able to convey his enthusiasm for the sport and the antics of the rider on track  like no other. 

Agreed. I think losing Rob on commentary is going to be a sad day for the sport, but I don’t think you can compare the current coverage of EWS to the XCO and Downhill. The EWS coverage could be better, but I don’t think it’s realistic to put together a live broadcast of EWS. You have different riders, in different categories Riding on different parts of a mountain simultaneously. I think it is more suited to the course overview, plus rider interviews, plus highlights package. 
 

I think it’s fair to give them a chance first and see what the coverage is going to be like next year. We might be pleasantly surprised. 
 

I think at this point the only thing we can be sure of is Super Sport will make a ballsup of distributing it in South Africa, because it pays more to show re-runs of sundowns playing against chippa unt from six seasons ago. 

[tinmug]

36 minutes ago, esCape-ist said:

Agreed. I think losing Rob on commentary is going to be a sad day for the sport, but I don’t think you can compare the current coverage of EWS to the XCO and Downhill. The EWS coverage could be better, but I don’t think it’s realistic to put together a live broadcast of EWS. You have different riders, in different categories Riding on different parts of a mountain simultaneously. I think it is more suited to the course overview, plus rider interviews, plus highlights package. 
 

I think it’s fair to give them a chance first and see what the coverage is going to be like next year. We might be pleasantly surprised. 
 

I think at this point the only thing we can be sure of is Super Sport will make a ballsup of distributing it in South Africa, because it pays more to show re-runs of sundowns playing against chippa unt from six seasons ago. 

Any free feed will be ad-packed and heavily edited. The full live feed will be ad-packed and expensive ... and quite possibly not be available (without VPN) is SA. The riders are so fed-up with the lack of info that they are creating a union to protect their interests. The EWS feed is disappointing, at best. Chris Whatever-his-Surname-is from EWS has been evasive (to put it mildly) regarding info about next year.

The hour-long broadcast Discovery has created concerning the next years has been really, really bad IMHO ... US sport television at its worst. My fingers are crossed for a) accessibility, b) affordability and c) reasonable quality. 

[OVERDRIVE]

Video: End of an Era - Val di Sole Story of the Race with Ben Cathro - Pinkbike

From 09:00 seems he's got plans...