Tao Geoghegan Hart has publicly criticized the decision by Warner Bros. Discovery to merge Eurosport into the TNT Sports network, causing a steep subscription increase from £6.99 to £30.99 in the UK and Ireland. As a result, cycling fans will indirectly subsidize the costs of broadcasting other major sports. With ITV not bidding for Tour de France rights, free live viewing will also vanish by 2026. Hart emphasizes that this paywall poses significant challenges for cycling's audience and sponsorship viability, lamenting the potential impact on fan engagement and support for the sport.
Professional sports are all competing for the same audience. Cycling is completely reliant on this audience, it is how teams justify themselves to sponsors spending millions a year. Only a few teams can realistically promise a sponsor to win the Tour, but all teams can demonstrate good ROI when capturing so many eyes, hearts & minds.
Let's be clear, the sport going behind such a large paywall is a huge problem. I find it hard to believe many fans will be able to justify this increase in costs to follow our races.
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