MSR Week: Will They or Won't They?

by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 19, 2007 4:16 PM EDT in News

We kick off Milan-San Remo Week here at the Podium Cafe with a small, but rather potent, hors d'oeuvre: will Cycling.TV carry Milan-San Remo live? Update [2007-3-20 13:54:19 by chris]: YES!

For fans (and this site), live video is the bread and butter. Cycling.TV is the convenience store where we get the goods. And yet last time we went to the Versus Channel shelf, it was mysteriously empty. Cycling.tv can be a little cryptic when it comes to the bad news, which is their right, but it makes one wonder: if their deal to show Tirreno-Adriatico on the Versus Channel fell apart at the last minute for some unspoken reason, should we feel at all secure about their promise to show MSR?

Milan-San Remo is not Paris-Nice or T-A or Het Volk... this is the first Monument of the season. Considering the second Monument, the Tour of Flanders, is the only race of any consequence not available for live viewing, it would suck to no end if the first Monument disappeared as well. No amount of second-tier Belgian races can make up for that loss.

So while we wait for smoke from the Cycling.TV tower for Saturday, if people hear of other streaming sources of live MSR video, please chime in here. I'm fairly certain one of the RAI.it channels will have it... but there are several, and they don't always work in the US.

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rai international on dish network

ok so here is the deal, i live in the u.s. and recieve dish network with the $12.95 extra a month charge for rai international, tonight (monday, 19 March) i'll get to see today's stage of tirreno-adriatico on tape-delay at 1 in the morning. so far the coverage has ran from 20 to 45 minutes, with interviews at the finish, maybe a podium......some shoddy race standings and quickly back to some horrible variety show. so not great, however (btw i've had rai on dish for 4 years) san remo coverage is great, last year it was live for two hours, the previous year tape-delay, calcio plays second fiddle to no one, not sure on this year but you get a great feel for the race and you get to watch the chaos after the race as the media floods the via roma.
really the only reason to put up with the monthly charge is in may for the giro, hands down the best, even when compared to the year oln had daily coverage. post race interviews, podiums, and last but not least, the big mountain stages get a post race studio show with all of the days protagonists featuring beautiful podium girls and fat cigar smoking italian cycling commentators and ex-ds's. ciao, forza paolo

by sls13 on Mar 19, 2007 11:09 PM EDT reply actions

so little faith!

Hello all, Cycling.tv will be showing Milan San Remo live this weekend on our new Versus channel. This will be shown in North America only (including Canada). The channel will be $24 for the season and show the Giro too (Monday to Saturday live) and highlights of Tirreno Adriatico soon.

Have fun!

by anthony mccrossan on Mar 20, 2007 6:32 AM EDT reply actions

I'll cough up the $25 bucks...

and hope you can deliver what you promise.

"It never gets easier, you just goat faster." -- Greg LeMond

by ELVISGOAT on Mar 20, 2007 7:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Oh, I never doubted you Anthony

That guy Chris though.........

And no, this is not a blatant attempt to get us mentioned during the MSR telecast. It's a subtle attempt. Big difference.

I'll be re-upping in April when my renewal is due.

by Drew on Mar 20, 2007 8:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Point of clarification

Will the Versus channel be included if I'm a current Premium channel subscriber?

by Drew on Mar 20, 2007 9:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Yes, this is the Question

with a capital "Q"

by NE Observer on Mar 20, 2007 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Anthony can answer

but I believe the answer is no, the Versus channel will be an additional 24 bones. As I understand it, our Premium fee covers the races already on the schedule, so when they buy additional content to show us (like the RCS races or the Unipublic races), they have to recoup the additional licencing fees.

Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste

by Koppenberg on Mar 20, 2007 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Ah....

That won't be happening - hope Chris is on the ball on Saturday.

by Drew on Mar 20, 2007 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions

I'll fork it over

After all, I'll get the Giro, too. C'mon Drewski, I know you can't sweat out the whole Giro without mainlining! Might as well pony it up now.

by Tiki on Mar 20, 2007 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions

I can watch taped coverage of the Giro

every night at home. Why would I want to pay extra for it when I can't watch it at work?

"Go ahead, make your jokes, Mr. Jokey... Joke-maker"

by Drew on Mar 21, 2007 8:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Lampre

So who are they working for, Ballan or Bennati? I'm guessing Bennati.

by Drew on Mar 20, 2007 9:33 AM EDT reply actions

Ballan?

What's his condition?

Got a problem? Va fa Napoli!

by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 20, 2007 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions

Unknown (to me at least)

But seeing how a) he's gearing towards Flanders, GV, and PR, b) his sprint against Boonen in last year's E3Prijs should have been accompanied by a back up siren, and 3) Bennati is supposedly set to prove himself against Boonen, McEwen, and Petacchi, I can only guess he's their first option and Alessandro is second choice.

As I rider though I like him and hope he breaks through this year with a big win somewhere.

by Drew on Mar 20, 2007 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Sorry to doubt

but the non-beta screen still didn't show the Versus Channel as of yesterday. Do people need the beta to get it? I can't tell if my subscription from last year's OLN channel is still going.

Got a problem? Va fa Napoli!

by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 20, 2007 10:19 AM EDT reply actions

honestly

I'm really hesitant to pay for anything Versus-branded out of principle.

-Cosmo

by Cosmo on Mar 20, 2007 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Hear that

by Drew on Mar 20, 2007 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Bah

No Cycling fan is totally in love with Versus' coverage, or their commercials or other programming... but they've stuck with Cycling for a while now. Every other American network has kicked us to the curb, assuming they even know we or the sport exist. I can criticize, but I can't oppose them.

I'll be bringing home my laptop which has an S-video out, and watching on the full screen.

Got a problem? Va fa Napoli!

by Chris Fontecchio on Mar 20, 2007 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Aha!

Versus tv will be showing taped delayed races on their cable channel but live coverage through Cycling.tv (so I'm guessing). That's where the additional charge comes in. Sorry that I didn't put that together sooner.

If that's the case I wouldn't have a problem paying for it if I didn't get Versus already on Comcast. Since I do, I'll be content to follow our live thread then watch the delayed coverage on Sunday evening. This way I can also see Flanders.

Pete - make sure to tape all this stuff for next winter.

by Drew on Mar 20, 2007 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions

The only problems with VS

From my POV are the delayed coverage, and the numerous commercials.

I enjoy Cyclysm Sunday, and watch it even if I caught the race live on cycling.tv.

Paul and Bob's commentary isn't especially inane, or significantly different than Eurosport or cycling TV. It's pretty standard fare.

For those who detest VS, what's the main problem?

-K-

by KevinK on Mar 20, 2007 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Points of distaste

Al Trautwig
Bob Roll

If neither is doing the broadcast I don't mind the tape delayed coverage. I'm fully willing to put up with that in order to add to my winter training tapes. But Al and Bob absolutely ruin any race for me with their commentary or lack thereof.

by Drew on Mar 20, 2007 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions

And where has Phil been this year?

"Sometimes you gotta give luck a swift kick in the balls." -Jens Voigt, Philosopher.

by Ruthann on Mar 20, 2007 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I have no problem with VS,

and am willing to put up with whatever weaknesses they might have just because they're the only network willing to give cycling a shot. They do, afterall, have to cater to a mostly unsophisticated American cycling audience, and I imagine they probably think that to retain and expand that audience, they're going to have to keep it pretty simple for a while. I do, however, detest that no-hair trout guy (Trautwig).

Sorry Drew, I love Bob Roll. His nonsensical, tangential commentary often cracks me up. Also makes me wonder what kind of a teammate he must have been.

by Scott. on Mar 20, 2007 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions

My friend

we'll just have to agree to disagree on Bob :-)

He was probably a very good teammate and I'd like to sit and watch a race with him, but he just drives me crazy as a tv color analyst. What's funny is when I first started watching cycling in 1999 he was paired up on OLN with Paul Sherwin for Fleche Wallone and he was very good. Still tangential but not trying nearly so hard to impress. He and Paul had a good rapport, just two ex pros talking about cycling while calling the race. That was enjoyable - yoked to Al I just want to pull my own ears off.

So maybe I'll blame Al for 75% of my disatisfaction.

by Drew on Mar 20, 2007 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions

General Approach

I think VS' general approach is a little off the mark.

I doubt there's much (if any) crossover audience for cycling in the US. I'd guess 99% of the audience that tunes in are cycling fans already. I subscribed to a premium cable package to watch the TdF coverage.

For that reason, I don't quite understand why they have Al Trautwig, and invested any money in graphics or a set for Cyclysm Sunday.

-K-

by KevinK on Mar 20, 2007 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions

My big complaint about Versus

is the frequency and length of the commercial breaks, and the fact that they seem to be inserted with no regard for what's going on in the race. I remember a couple of years ago, OLN showed the last half-hour of each Tour de France stages uninterrupted by commercials. If they would do that for every race they cover, I could probably forgive everything else.

I supposed I'm spoiled by the fact that cycling.tv has so few commercials, and all of them are about biking stuff. What was up with that Versus commercial on Sunday that seemed to be about growing plants that would attract deer to your property so you could kill them? Is that for real? It was like some sort of Saturday Night Live spoof.

It is great that Versus shows bike racing, since no other tv channel in the U.S. seems to have any interest in doing so, and I can put up with their attempts to build an American audience for cycling by repeatedly profiling and interviewing the same four or five American riders. I must say, though, I'm getting pretty sick of Paul Sherwin describing everyone and everything with reference to Lance Armstrong, as if he invented:

a. riding at a high cadence
b. "dancing on the pedals"
c. being supported by a strong team
d. etc.

Eleven Nation Army: Ready to get rich off the other teams' lunch money

by Susie Hartigan on Mar 20, 2007 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions

deer food

I got a chuckle out of that, too. I doubt their sales spiked during the cycling coverage.

-K-

by KevinK on Mar 20, 2007 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

Although, there is usually the option of watching the live video feed and the eurosport audio feed at the same time. That way we can watch the racing uninterrupted by murderous plotting to end the inane chatter of Roll and Troutwig.

Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste

by Koppenberg on Mar 20, 2007 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Now that's a thought

Didn't know Eurosport had the rights to it as well. I'd gladly listen to Sean Kelly. That may be the way to go, then get the translation on Sunday from Phil and Paul.

by Drew on Mar 20, 2007 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Just got off the non beta screen

and no reference to the Versus Channel there.Any suggestions Anthony?

"The ox is slow but the earth is patient."

by Teel 22 on Mar 20, 2007 12:33 PM EDT reply actions

I have no link to the VS channel on c.tv, either.

"Sometimes you gotta give luck a swift kick in the balls." -Jens Voigt, Philosopher.

by Ruthann on Mar 20, 2007 3:18 PM EDT reply actions

And for Mac users

there is the question of whether or not the video window will be scaleable or not. Was for Het Volk, (Which is fast become 'The Great Race' ie really exciting competition and great C-tv reception!) changed during or maybe starting with P-N, and still isn't for me (and I think others in the Mac/firefox/flip4mac/qt setup).
I sent an exceedingly polite e-mail enquiry about this to C-tv but it went . . . unanswered.

Still no Versus link . . .

by ianmcw on Mar 20, 2007 3:49 PM EDT reply actions

Flip4mac

I sent cycling.tv an email about this as well. They replied that they had changed nothing on their end. Then they sent the standard directions for running cycling.tv on a mac. They had no explanation as to why flip4mac no longer opens the video stream in the quicktime window.

I will say, however, that the playback seems to be much better in this format. I just wish I could get good quality AND full screen viewing. Sites like worldcycling and WCSN work fine on my Mac, even though they use Windows media player format as well.

by telemick on Mar 20, 2007 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Well if they changed nothing . . .

and you and I changed nothing then nothing changed and we just imagined it?

Something happened, and the right response from C-TV would be "We'll investigate and get back to you." After all our value from them has decreased markedly with no full screen cabability.

Dont think their IT folks would last long where I work . . . .

by ianmcw on Mar 20, 2007 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions