This morning, the Global Cycling Network—GCN—dropped a bombshell on viewers: As of December 19, 2023, GCN+ and the GCN App will be shutting down. The media company has been one of the few places streaming bike races worldwide since 2020. The news hits hard at the start of indoor trainer season, where watching every bike race and movie about bike racing possible is a favorite pastime of cyclists.
“This decision comes from our parent company Warner Bros. Discovery and is driven by its global strategy to consolidate its streaming services, and to offer content in fewer places, making it easier for customers to access and discover more content,” GCN said in a press release this morning.
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“We also want to add, for the sake of all the people who have worked so hard on GCN+ and the GCN App, that the reason for its closure is not because the two platforms didn’t work or were underperforming,” the company added. “The reality is that the media industry landscape has changed, and this is why WBD’s streaming services are being consolidated to offer content in one place.”
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Fans around the world were gutted and took to social media to express their disappointment with Warner Bros. Discovery for the decision.
What this means for pro cycling fans
GCN as a standalone website and YouTube channel will continue, according to the press release, but the live race coverage and all past GCN+ content will be gone from the platform.
What the closure means for the future of the races traditionally streamed by GCN+ is still up in the air. Closing on December 19, 2023 means likely missing many of the traditional Christmas Week cyclocross races, at minimum. In the block between the 19th and the 3rd of January alone, GCN+ was set to stream two Superprestige races (Zolder and Diegem) as well as the GP Sven Nys Baal. (The cyclocross World Cups and World Championships are streamed on FloBikes, so they’ll still be watchable.)
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But cyclocross aside, GCN+ was one of the few apps that streamed full road racing coverage, including the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.
According to GCN’s announcement, in Europe, GCN+ subscribers will now have the option to subscribe to access Discovery+, Eurosport or Eurosport Extra, presumably for a similar race streaming calendar. However, in markets outside of Europe, Warner Brothers is reviewing how content is delivered to its fans—leaving U.S. cyclocross fans in the dark as far as how the rest of the season will unfold. (Refunds will be given to subscribers from December 19,2023 onwards.)
GCN has a spot on their site now with information about the closure and where races can be streamed outside of GCN+, but under the U.S. information, it simply says no info is available at this time. We will update this story as more information becomes available.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
