Streaming Cycling in UK - Discovery+ prices!

[andrew_s]

Riffing from Dogtrousers helpful post you could cancel during the Mens Tdef as its on ITV4 and do:
23.04 La Flèche Wallonne 1.UWT
27.04 Liège-Bastogne-Liège 1.UWT
29.04 - 04.05 Tour de Romandie 2.UWT
01.05 Eschborn-Frankfurt 1.UWT
09.05 - 01.06 Giro d'Italia 2.UWT
08.06 - 15.06 Critérium du Dauphiné 2.UWT
15.06 - 22.06 Tour de Suisse 2.UWT
22.06 Copenhagen Sprint
WWT:

23.04	La Flèche Wallonne Féminine	1.WWT
27.04	Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes	1.WWT
04.05 - 10.05	Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es	2.WWT
16.05 - 18.05	Itzulia Women	2.WWT
22.05 - 25.05	Vuelta a Burgos Feminas	2.WWT
05.06 - 08.06	Tour of Britain Women	2.WWT
12.06 - 15.06	Tour de Suisse Women	2.WWT
21.06	Copenhagen Sprint	1.WWT

Unsubscribe, then resubscribe for the mens Vuelta:
17.08 ADAC Cyclassics 1.UWT
20.08 - 24.08 Renewi Tour 2.UWT
23.08 - 14.09 La Vuelta Ciclista a España 2.UWT
31.08 Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France 1.UWT
12.09 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec 1.UWT
14.09 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 1.UWT
WWT:

15.08 - 17.08	Tour de Romandie Féminin	2.WWT
19.08 - 24.08	Tour of Scandinavia	2.WWT
30.08	Classic Lorient Agglomération - CERATIZIT	1.WWT

But you would miss the womens Giro! I presume tdef women is on itv?

Does that work for some? Or is it about getting the cut price 3 months?

Another thing that you can do, provided you aren't the sort of person who gets upset by spoilers, is to miss everything, then subscribe for a month or two, and watch everything you missed on catchup.
It's sort of what I did during the GCN+ to D+ changeover. The GCN+ subscription got chopped 18th Nov or whenever, and I refrained from signing up for D+ until the spring classics started, and then caught on the second half of the CX season that I'd missed between live races.

 

[mjr]

I presume tdef women is on itv?

No, La Course by Le Tour was, but ITV have never had the TdFF.

 

[ColinJ]

Another thing that you can do, provided you aren't the sort of person who gets upset by spoilers, is to miss everything, then subscribe for a month or two, and watch everything you missed on catchup.
It's sort of what I did during the GCN+ to D+ changeover. The GCN+ subscription got chopped 18th Nov or whenever, and I refrained from signing up for D+ until the spring classics started, and then caught on the second half of the CX season that I'd missed between live races.

That could actually be a brilliant suggestion - thanks!

Wait until a month before the Tour de France (this year, while it is still on ITV), subscribe for one month and catch up on the spring classics, one week stage races and Giro, then TdF on ITV, then wait until a month before Lombardy and catch up on the remaining classics and Vuelta.

I could handle paying £62 for that lot. And the following year do it in 3 months, one grand tour each. Assuming that they hadn't then put it up to (say) £68/month!!!

I would have to decide whether to keep up with pro cycling news and get the spoilers, or do my best not to get the spoilers during the 'off' months.

 

[kingrollo]

I started to work through the spreadsheet - after 30 minutes - I decided shelling out the £30 wasn't so bad after all ,😁

Only kidding. Just as a reference point I got top whack broadband, home phone , TV , sky sports + tnt sports for £65pm. I probably wouldn't get that deal now. But haggle like hell and it's surprising what you can get.

 

[matticus]

And the following year do it in 3 months, one grand tour each. Assuming that they hadn't then put it up to (say) £68/month!!!

If they DO put it up, we'll know who to blame!!!

 

[kingrollo]

The next step has to PPV for a special stage ? - if Pogacar + JV are nip and tuck going into the final days - who wouldn't be tempted to shell out £10 for an alp duez shoot out.

Now TV specializes in this sort of thing.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The next step has to PPV for a special stage ? - if Pogacar + JV are nip and tuck going into the final days - who wouldn't be tempted to shell out £10 for an alp duez shoot out.

Now TV specializes in this sort of thing.

Unfortunately what we'll probably get is dynamic pricing. Pog and Jonas nip and tuck? That'll be £100 please. Pog has a 10 minute lead? Only £10. The good news is that the TDU will be free.

 

[bobdaspider]

Interesting online article about watching professional cycling without paying the crazy prices wanted by Warner Bros et al. Here's a link to the article: https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/how-to-watch-cycling-for-less-in-the-uk

I'm interested in the VPN option and have also checked that the Giro d'Italia is free to watch in Italy - so a VPN should help here. The Tour de France is free to watch in France (stations France 2 and 3) - so a VPN should be okay, and La Vuelta is shown by Australian tv - so again, a VPN should help here. I'm also sure that the race would also be available on free to view Spanish tv but cannot confirm this.

The article quoted above, helpfully lists a number of VPN services that one could use (others are available). So, for the equivalent of about £5 a month, one should still be able to watch professional cycling - including the three grand tours. Remembering that, depending on where you get the coverage from, the commentary may not be in English.

 

[mjr]

The Tour de France is free to watch in France (stations France 2 and 3) - so a VPN should be okay, and

Unsurprisingly, it's not. The terms of use of France Televisions prohibit VPNs with:
"les Utilisateurs qui accèdent aux Sites et Applications FRANCE TELEVISIONS concernés depuis des postes informatiques situés sur des Territoire exclus s'interdisent d'utiliser tout système de contournement des mesures de localisation destiné à permettre un accès à ces contenus depuis ces territoires" (users who access the France Televisions sites and apps from connections sited in excluded territories are forbidden from using all methods of subverting location checks intended to permit an access to this content from these territories) {that access being TNT Sports for the UK}

As I've written elsewhere, they're unlikely to do more than cut you off, unless you're reselling or exhibiting it somehow, but still don't kid yourself that using a VPN to defeat georestrictions is legal. It's still going to involve a breach of contract somewhere along the chain (usually the streaming site and often the VPN) and possibly a crime in some country. It's irresponsible of Cyclist to assert this is legal.

There's also a practical problem that streaming over VPN is often unreliable (it's wrapping one connection inside another, basically, and it goes wrong if either has a problem) and VPN companies often only have support that won't even respond before the broadcast finishes (let alone fix any problem), based on my experience using it to watch (legal!) content much less popular and lighter on bandwidth than sports streams. There are specialist sports stream VPNs available, but they are in legal grey areas at best, and at worst you're giving an ongoing credit card authority to randoms somewhere like north Africa where you have little comeback except asking your card issuer to help.

It's also noticeable that Cyclist mentions TG4 but not s4c's coverage, which is on Freeview in and near Wales, and on Satellite in the rest of the UK. Is that not continuing?

 

[bobdaspider]

Unsurprisingly, it's not. The terms of use of France Televisions prohibit VPNs with:
"les Utilisateurs qui accèdent aux Sites et Applications FRANCE TELEVISIONS concernés depuis des postes informatiques situés sur des Territoire exclus s'interdisent d'utiliser tout système de contournement des mesures de localisation destiné à permettre un accès à ces contenus depuis ces territoires" (users who access the France Televisions sites and apps from connections sited in excluded territories are forbidden from using all methods of subverting location checks intended to permit an access to this content from these territories) {that access being TNT Sports for the UK}

As I've written elsewhere, they're unlikely to do more than cut you off, unless you're reselling or exhibiting it somehow, but still don't kid yourself that using a VPN to defeat georestrictions is legal. It's still going to involve a breach of contract somewhere along the chain (usually the streaming site and often the VPN) and possibly a crime in some country. It's irresponsible of Cyclist to assert this is legal.

There's also a practical problem that streaming over VPN is often unreliable (it's wrapping one connection inside another, basically, and it goes wrong if either has a problem) and VPN companies often only have support that won't even respond before the broadcast finishes (let alone fix any problem), based on my experience using it to watch (legal!) content much less popular and lighter on bandwidth than sports streams. There are specialist sports stream VPNs available, but they are in legal grey areas at best, and at worst you're giving an ongoing credit card authority to randoms somewhere like north Africa where you have little comeback except asking your card issuer to help.

It's also noticeable that Cyclist mentions TG4 but not s4c's coverage, which is on Freeview in and near Wales, and on Satellite in the rest of the UK. Is that not continuing?

@mjr thanks for the additional info. Any information is going to be helpful as we collectively seek to find practical / cheaper options to watch cycling - which in turn is a direct reaction to the crazy price hike by Warner Bros et al. Hopefully, between us on the board, we can reach an agreed position on available options...

 

[Paulus]

A week later I have just received my Sorry to see you go email from Discovery plus, no mention of the £17 deal that was on offer earlier, not that I would of taken up on it.

 

[mjr]

@mjr thanks for the additional info. Any information is going to be helpful as we collectively seek to find practical / cheaper options to watch cycling - which in turn is a direct reaction to the crazy price hike by Warner Bros et al. Hopefully, between us on the board, we can reach an agreed position on available options...

I admire your optimism! I'm pretty sure there's three legal options:
1. Pay WB somehow: some of the different ways are posted above, including D+, Virgin, EE and Sky.
2. Watch broadcasts that overspill their target areas (usually satellite, but some people will live close enough to borders to get S4C, TG4 or France TV on terrestial) and hope the channels involved don't encrypt even more of their broadcasts (Spain's TVE is already encrypted on all satellites, as are many of France TV and RAI's broadcasts, for example). Non-English commentary.
3. Watch internet streams that aren't as georestricted as they probably should be, like TG4, if it's really as Cyclist magazine claimed. Non-English commentary.

and at least three options which aren't entirely legal:
A. watching open streaming sites (which in my experience are often overloaded and unreliable and sometimes infested with malware);
B. using a VPN to watch somewhere else's free stream, or subscribe to a foreign TV package (usually breaking their terms of use, and possibly the VPN's too);
C. subscribing to a combined sports stream+VPN (usually they're breaking someone else's terms, as far as I can tell, and they're hosted somewhere outside the UK/EU/EEA probably to make legal action more difficult for ASO, RCS, WB and so on).

As well as being closed out of the streaming site, all of those probably risk you getting booted off your internet connection if someone catches you and complains to your provider. I don't know if there's still a small risk of a Copyright Designs and Patents Act court case against you because I've not been following that in recent years (since Freesat got all UK Public Service channels and I didn't need to break encryption to watch in a weak-Freeview-signal area). Options B and C obviously also risk whatever money you've paid in advance if you get booted off the VPN or the combined service gets closed down.

Based on discussions elsewhere, I expect some people will never agree that A, B and C aren't legal!

 

[Dogtrousers]

Thanks @mjr good summary

Having thought about it there aren't that many races that I really want live, 100% full fat, all day, all bells and whistles access to. That's the Tour, RVV, P-R, MSR & the Giro. Maybe Strade Bianche. Maybe the Vuelta. The rest I'm interested in but I'm not all that likely to watch live. So if the available free highlights aren't utterly cack I'll make do with those + random youtubers (GCN, Lanterne Rouge, Chris Horner ...)

So my most likely plan will be to subscribe for a limited number of months then drop it. WB will be keeping their fingers crossed that I forget to unsubscribe (or decide that I want to watch some other sport that they carry. The fact that TNT have lots of rugby makes this a real risk)

One thing I will miss is the track cycling. That's something I'm never really prepared for. I just go "oh look there's a UCI champions league on the telly, I'll watch that". That kind of unplanned access I'll miss. Cyclo cross I'm not fussed about. I watch it sometimes but I can take it or leave it.

 

[Alex321]

I admire your optimism! I'm pretty sure there's three legal options:
1. Pay WB somehow: some of the different ways are posted above, including D+, Virgin, EE and Sky.
2. Watch broadcasts that overspill their target areas (usually satellite, but some people will live close enough to borders to get S4C, TG4 or France TV on terrestial) and hope the channels involved don't encrypt even more of their broadcasts (Spain's TVE is already encrypted on all satellites, as are many of France TV and RAI's broadcasts, for example). Non-English commentary.
3. Watch internet streams that aren't as georestricted as they probably should be, like TG4, if it's really as Cyclist magazine claimed. Non-English commentary.

and at least three options which aren't entirely legal:
A. watching open streaming sites (which in my experience are often overloaded and unreliable and sometimes infested with malware);
B. using a VPN to watch somewhere else's free stream, or subscribe to a foreign TV package (usually breaking their terms of use, and possibly the VPN's too);
C. subscribing to a combined sports stream+VPN (usually they're breaking someone else's terms, as far as I can tell, and they're hosted somewhere outside the UK/EU/EEA probably to make legal action more difficult for ASO, RCS, WB and so on).

As well as being closed out of the streaming site, all of those probably risk you getting booted off your internet connection if someone catches you and complains to your provider. I don't know if there's still a small risk of a Copyright Designs and Patents Act court case against you because I've not been following that in recent years (since Freesat got all UK Public Service channels and I didn't need to break encryption to watch in a weak-Freeview-signal area). Options B and C obviously also risk whatever money you've paid in advance if you get booted off the VPN or the combined service gets closed down.

Based on discussions elsewhere, I expect some people will never agree that A, B and C aren't legal!

There is a difference between being illegal and being against the T&C.

B&C probably breach the T&C, but will not be illegal.

 

[Alex321]

Thanks @mjr good summary

Having thought about it there aren't that many races that I really want live, 100% full fat, all day, all bells and whistles access to. That's the Tour, RVV, P-R, MSR & the Giro. Maybe Strade Bianche. Maybe the Vuelta. The rest I'm interested in but I'm not all that likely to watch live. So if the available free highlights aren't utterly cack I'll make do with those + random youtubers (GCN, Lanterne Rouge, Chris Horner ...)

I never really watched any of them fully live, unless I happened to be free in the afternoon. But I did usually watch the on-demand copy of the live stream later, just skipping through bits, as thaht seemed much better than theDiscovery+ "highlights" programme.