UK fans tuning in for the opening stage of the Tour de France on TNT Sports have been surprised to find out that advert-free coverage of the race is only available via the broadcaster’s multi-screen feed and the standard single-screen feed is being punctuated by regular advert breaks.
Fans have reacted with fury, the TNT Sports’ social media posts about the race flooded with angry and disappointed comments from viewers paying £30.99-a-month to watch the race.
Cycling coverage moves to TNT Sports (credit: road.cc)
While previously, Discovery+ had an advert-free version of the standard race feed, that has now disappeared, meaning that viewers have the choice between the TNT Sports 1 TV feed with adverts, or the ‘quad screen’ multi-screen that does not go to advert breaks but the commentary cuts out at times when there is a commercial break on the other feed.
A TNT Sports spokesperson has confirmed to road.cc this afternoon that the quad screen is now the only advert-free feed.
Unsurprisingly, viewers paying the £30.99-a-month subscription to watch cycling have taken to social media to express their disgust at the news, many saying this is the final straw and that they will be cancelling their subscription.
On Facebook, John Maclennan wrote, “£30.99 a month and I can’t even watch the race without adverts! Final straw. Cancelling this rubbish.”
Lynsey Joyce agreed: “So annoying TNT Sports, why no full screen coverage without adverts? One of the biggest races. I don’t want to watch multi-screen! £30 to watch adverts… absolute joke.”
On Twitter, Dr Ronan Lee said he had reported the broadcaster to UK Advertising Standards, suggesting TNT Sports was “doing their best to ruin the TdF coverage by forcing ads on subscribers while advertising the ability to watch ‘all the live action’.”
Ahead of the Tour, TNT Sports’ message to viewers and the media was that the coverage would be taken to the “next level”, although news of the quad screen representing its only ad-free feed has come as a surprise to many today, plenty of viewers seeing it as a slap in the face having already stumped up £24 more than they previously paid per month back when Eurosport broadcast races last year.
On Twitter, a cycling fan named Emma wrote: “Yeah I’m not happy, thinking of cancelling as it was the only benefit over Itv4 whose coverage is superior in every other way.”
Ruth D added: “I hope it’s not like that the whole Tour. I don’t want to watch the multi or the ads.” She also suggested the new set-up makes it “inaccessible for disabled people who can’t have multi screens or flashing ads. Absolutely furious.”
TNT Sports has confirmed that this is going to be the case for the entire Tour de France.
David wrote: “Looking at the upcoming races, tomorrow’s female Giro has two streams. TNT Sports 2 and the plain TNT Sports feed. So it looks like it’s just the Tour that is having multi-screen forced on us (and it’s shocking, unwatchable!).”
Hels Bels said: “Yep, I’m furious. And that multi-screen is horrendous, they need to get rid of it and bring us an ad-free normal stream.”
Back on Facebook, Wendy Halsall commented under a TNT Sports post: “Why are we being made to watch adverts when we pay. I want to watch a whole screen, not multi screen. TNT has ruined cycling, bet they don’t put an advert in the middle of football.”
It is just the latest controversy since the announcement earlier this year that cycling coverage was moving to TNT Sports and Eurosport was closing in the UK and Ireland. This is the final summer of free-to-air coverage on ITV too, meaning that from next year TNT Sports will have exclusive rights to the race in the UK.