Stay biking is about to get much more costly to observe within the UK, because it joins the premium channels alongside soccer and rugby.
From 28 February 2025, Eurosport will disappear within the UK and Eire, and biking will transfer to TNT Sports activities. The choice was made by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the father or mother firm of the 2 channels, in a plan to align its sports activities choices in a “single vacation spot”.
In consequence, biking shall be put behind a bigger paywall. The price of a TNT Sports activities subscription is £30.99 a month, though that is out there cheaper as an add-on to different TV packages. Till now, Eurosport has been provided at no additional value to Sky TV and Virgin Media clients within the UK.
WBD has additionally confirmed that it’ll present no free-to-air reside protection of the Tour de France within the UK from 2026, when its unique rights deal turns into efficient.
“The brand new residence of biking within the UK goes to be TNT Sports activities,” Scott Younger, group senior vp of WBD Sports activities Europe informed the media in a presentation. “There may be going to be a worth rise for this premium sports activities channel. What we’ve checked out is creating worth for cash, taking essentially the most premium sports activities properties as doable and creating the adjacency, making a sports activities ecosystem the place you get worth.”
To look at biking, followers must decide into the entire TNT Sports activities package deal. Eurosport 1 and a pair of will vanish from the TV listings on the finish of subsequent month, and biking will as a substitute be merged into the present 4 TNT Sports activities channels.
Prospects who use the Discovery+ app can even witness a worth hike, and must swap from the usual £6.99 a month package deal to the £30.99 premium package deal in the event that they need to proceed to observe reside biking.
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“We’re constructing out the very best sports activities and leisure profile we have now on this nation,” Younger stated. “Individuals can select to make their determination as to how they need to have interaction with us within the quick time period. We’re investing in biking.
“What’s extra essential is the ecosystem of sports activities content material on this market, and for sports activities followers now to come back to 1 vacation spot, and never try to decide which vacation spot they’ve bought to go to.”
Some biking content material shall be broadcast on WBD’s free-to-air channels, comparable to Quest and DMAX. This won’t embody reside biking, however relatively highlights reveals of the Grand Excursions, and a brand new hour-long programme known as ‘The Final Biking Present’, hosted by Orla Chennaoui and Adam Blythe, and scheduled to debut this 27 February on Quest.
If you wish to maintain abreast of the way to watch all of the upcoming biking motion, ensure you take a look at our biking TV and streaming information.
When do the modifications come into impact?
The modifications will happen on 28 February 2025, when Eurosport 1 and a pair of will disappear from the TV listings within the UK and Eire, and biking will migrate to TNT Sports activities.
How will I be capable to watch reside biking within the UK?
To look at reside biking, you will want a linear subscription to TNT Sports activities, or a digital subscription to Discovery+. Each platforms are run by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and can broadcast each race of the boys’s and ladies’s WorldTours.
Viewers will be capable to watch the Tour de France free of charge this yr on ITV; nevertheless, that is the ultimate yr the race shall be broadcast on the channel, as WBD has earned unique rights from 2026.
How a lot is a TNT Sports activities subscription?
A TNT Sports activities subscription is £30.99 a month, however it’s out there cheaper with sure TV packages.
Virgin Media clients, for instance, can add it to their bundle for a further £18 a month. Sky TV clients can do the identical for an additional £30 a month. EE cellular clients can buy TNT Sports activities as an add-on for £20 a month.
Can I nonetheless watch reside biking on Discovery+?
Sure, however you will want to improve your package deal. Stay biking is at the moment lined in the usual £6.99 a month plan, however it is going to be moved into the £30.99 a month premium deal from 28 Feb 2025.
How can I watch racing highlights?
Racing highlights will proceed to be out there on WBD’s YouTube channel and social media pages. They can even be proven on Quest, a free-to-air channel inside WBD’s portfolio.
As a part of the replace, WBD can also be launching a brand new hour-long weekly programme, ‘The Final Biking Present’, which shall be hosted by Orla Chennaoui and Adam Blythe. The primary episode will air on 27 February on Quest.
Will the Tour de France be free-to-air?
The Tour de France won’t be free-to-air on TNT Sports activities, nor will there be reside protection of the race on any of WBD’s different channels. “It isn’t on our highway map,” stated Scott Younger, senior vp of WBD Sports activities Europe.
The Tour will, nevertheless, be out there to observe free of charge on ITV this yr. This would be the ultimate yr the channel reveals the race, as WBD has signed an unique rights deal within the UK from 2026.
Are different nations affected?
WBD’s new replace impacts viewers within the UK and Eire. Different territories, comparable to France, Italy and Spain, shall be unaffected, and can proceed to have entry to Eurosport.