Cycling Fans in the U.S. Just Got Great News About Streaming Pro Bike Racing Next Year
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If you, like us, were starting to get panicky about the future of watching live cycling events, we have good news. While GCN+ is closing in five days, shutting down on December 19th, 2023. Warner Bros. Discovery just announced that starting in February 2024, cycling events would be live-streaming from MAX via an add-on as part of TNT Sports.
According to the press release, more than 300 races would be available for U.S.-based MAX Subscribers via the B/R Sports Add-On. (Yes, MAX is formerly HBO Max, but now contains a lot more than just Sopranos reruns.)
Live cycling coverage on MAX will include:
Giro d’Italia
All race weekends of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series
All rounds of the UCI Track Champions League
53 women’s WorldTour Pro Series broadcasts
E3 Saxo Bank Classic, the Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
While the release makes mention of BMX and cyclocross, it stops short of mentioning any races that it will be covering, and with the February start date, it’s clear that cyclocross fans who used GCN+ to watch races will need to figure out a VPN-based solution if they want to watch the rest of the Trofee or Superprestige series’ this year.
Also not included in the list is the American NCL race league, which penned a three-year deal with GCN+ earlier this year.
Of course, with 300+ races on the roster, it’s entirely possible that cyclocross, BMC and NCL racing will be available—we just don’t have that information yet. Max also doesn’t mention if any films or past races from GCN+ archive will move over to their platform. (Just in case, start binge-watching these movies ASAP.)
According to the release, subscribers will also have access to “The Breakaway,” where pre- and post-race coverage will “harness the most immersive broadcast studio innovations to dissect the action for cycling fans.”
But who will the commentators be?
TBD who will be commenting in The Breakaway or during the race. It’s unclear whether commentators from GCN+ will be part of the new platform, though MAX notes that in the past, Warner Bros. Discovery has featured “two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, former World Road Race champion Philippe Gilbert, 17-year ex-pro and fan favorite Jens Voigt and 24-time Grand Tour stage winner Robbie McEwen.” The release stops short of saying that these riders will be involved in the 2024 race live stream coverage.
The downside for fans of cycling but not much else? You’ll be paying for a wider range of content: MAX’s B/R Sports Add-On includes MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA Men’s March Madness, U.S. Soccer, 24 Hours of Le Mans and a ‘variety of non-live sports programming.’
Pricing appears to run from $9.99 to $19.99 monthly, depending on your current package. If you already have MAX—$9.99/month—you’ll only pay $9.99 to add the B/R Sports Add-On. But if you don’t, you'll have to get a Max subscription before accessing the B/R Sports Add-On. That’s a significant increase from the cost of GCN+.
However, this is arguably good news for cycling as a whole, since now, fans of other sports will be presented with more opportunities to watch cycling. Currently, Peacock is the only mainstream network to broadcast cycling, including the Tour de France, so this could present an opportunity for growth if the platform is designed to introduce new sports to current sport fans.
While long stage races may not be for everyone, shorter, harder races including the Classics and cyclocross races may just have the mass appeal that cycling needs to develop a stronger U. S. fan base.
The only real bad news? There still isn’t information available about the options for our neighbors to the north. Canadians typically have similar options to the U. S. (for example, FloBikes has similar races for American and Canadian audiences) but MAX isn’t available in Canada.
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