Specifically, I'm complaining about the streaming/app service known as NBC Sports Gold, which is the only way to watch the race in its entirety in the US.
For those unfamiliar with how Le Tour coverage is done, there is one company that produces all of the video coverage of the race itself. Networks in different companies can then buy the rights to air the video and add their own commentators and wraparound segments. For years, NBC Sports has released a Le Tour app for iOS (as well as a web-based service), and for years it has always been clunky, but NBC Sports doesn't televise the race in its entirety, so those of us who enjoy the race hand over money for it every year. In previous years, NBC has hired announcers to handle the parts of the race that NBC doesn't televise (usually the first couple hours of a stage, since the ratings are really in the conclusion of the stages, specifically the final sprints). It is usually a retired cyclist or an announcer from the UK or Australia... anybody who can fumble along and point out the sites along the way, then step aside when longtime announcers Phil and Paul show up. This year, NBC Sports did not create its own Le Tour app, opting instead to fold its online coverage under the "NBC Sports Gold" umbrella, which includes other sports such as motocross and -- well -- motocross. What this means for cycling fans is we are spending an additional $10 for access to things we don't want, but that's not the worst part. Despite this being the NBC Sports app and despite the peacock being proudly displayed on the icon and the website, the app does not include NBC's coverage of the sport. It includes the traditional video feed of the race itself, but not the audio engineering or commentary of the NBC Sports team. What viewers are left with is horribly produced audio of horrible commentators. When you can hear them at all, they do little more than read from a big book of "fun facts" about the racers and the stages. The amount of static and drop outs and other technical difficulties made watching the first stage of the race impossible. This is, to me, false advertising. If you paid for NBC's coverage of the NFL, but were instead treated to a couple of barely sober guys from New Zealand who had little to contribute to what was on screen, you'd be enraged. The NBC Sports cycling social media pages are exploding with furious viewers, especially today when we needed clear explanations of what the f*ck happened in the sprint. Not being a sports fan, I hear stories about how broadcast and cable TV has worked hard to make coverage of sports unbearable for actual fans. This year, NBC Sports has gone out of its way to make the only sports event I enjoy painful to watch. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
