TNT Sports to put cycling behind £30.99-a-month paywall, as Eurosport coverage to end and future of free-to-air Tour de France remains unclear

Cycling fans in the United Kingdom and Ireland will no longer be watching races on Eurosport, as coverage is set to move over to TNT Sports as part of an integration between the two Warner Bros. Discovery-owned channels on February 28th — the move means those wanting to watch professional cycling will now have to pay for a "premium" £30.99-a-month subscription.

There will be no loss of rights as a result of the change and all races previously broadcast on Eurosport will be available on TNT Sports and streamed on discovery+. It means — aside from ITV's final year of Tour de France, Critérium du Dauphiné and Paris-Nice coverage before Warner Bros. Discovery becomes exclusive rights holder in 2026 — all men's and women's Grand Tours, plus in excess of 300 days of cycling action across the year will soon be broadcast on TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland.

Most notably, however, is the price hike. The discovery+ premium subscription with TNT Sports costs £30.99, significantly more than the previous £6.99 monthly subscription that cycling fans could pay to watch Eurosport. What's more, the premium subscription can only be paid monthly, at the £30.99 rate, meaning 12 months of cycling viewing will soon cost nearly £400 (£371.88).

When news broke in the autumn of Warner Bros. Discovery's deal for exclusive coverage of the Tour de France from 2026 until "at least 2030", it raised concerns the race would not be shown on free-to-air television in the UK for the first time since the 1980s, potentially closing an accessible route for new viewers to discover the sport.

> "The Tour is the only race that matters. And that's gone now": Ned Boulting on the end of free-to-air Tour de France coverage in the UK

With today's announcement, TNT Sports has insisted it will bring "a strong free-to-air offer" to "broaden reach and increase exposure for cycling", including daily free-to-air highlights on Quest for the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España, as well as Paris-Roubaix this season.

However, the broadcaster has not disclosed any plans for 2026 when ITV will no longer show live coverage. Speaking to figures at TNT Sports, road.cc was not told directly of any free-to-air plans for 2026 but the broadcaster did explain how a free-to-air "proposition" will be delivered sooner to the time. TNT Sports said it could not confirm yet what this may entail as it is still a way off and production plans are being worked out.

The broadcaster was keen to highlight its hope that it can create new cycling fans by airing races on channels adjacent to bigger sporting events, such as Premier League football matches, albeit those viewers would still need to have bought a subscription to see it.

While that may not allay concerns about one of the UK's most beloved televisual sporting traditions of the summer coming to an end this year, the "strong free-to-air package" TNT Sports is promising includes a new weekly cycling show on its free channel Quest. 'The Ultimate Cycling Show' will be hosted by Orla Chennaoui and Adam Blythe and launches on February 27th, promising to cover "key parts of the season" and editorially "designed to cater to the seasoned fan, plus attract and engage new audiences".

TNT Sports has also promised an "increase in free-to-air highlights across men's and women's major races" in 2025 and confirmed that Eurosport would be continuing elsewhere in Europe.

For the cycling fan already subscribed and watching races on Eurosport, not much will change in terms of the actual cycling content. There will be a few new additions, but the content watched previously on one channel will simply move across to TNT Sports, and it will still be streamable on discovery+.

TNT Sports will air in excess of 300 days of cycling coverage across the year and has added the women's Giro d'Italia to its rights, meaning 100 per cent of the UCI Men's and Women's WorldTour will be broadcast.

Of those races, TNT Sports has exclusive rights for 33 of 36, the three exceptions being the Tour de France, Critérium du Dauphiné and Paris-Nice, which will become exclusive after leaving ITV this summer.

Scott Young, Group SVP, Content, Production & Business Operations, for WBD Sports Europe, said: "Combining Eurosport and TNT Sports content in the UK and Ireland will enable us to offer a single, premium viewing experience for sports fans. This move in the UK and Ireland will also continue to best deliver value for our leagues and federation partners, as we continue our 35 years plus commitment to investment and championing of sport on our screens, which remains a fundamental part of the success of grassroots through to elite.

"TNT Sports will also continue to bring more content to fans on Warner Bros. Discovery's free-to-air channel Quest. In 2025, this will include broadcasting every MotoGP Sprint race, adding to existing live Bennetts British Superbikes coverage, a brand-new weekly cycling show covering all key moments of the season, continue highlights of the Giro d'Italia and La Vuelta a Espana, plus premiere a range of new sports documentaries."

All Eurosport's digital offering, on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms will continue, just rebranded as TNT Sports Cycling.

TNT Sports also says it will help grow grassroots cycling through a new cycling club competition that will see the winner receive financial investment after a public vote during the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes.

The announcement Eurosport, now TNT Sports, would be the exclusive broadcaster of the Tour de France from 2026 was met with disappointment in many quarters from those upset by the loss of free-to-air coverage of the world's biggest bike race.

ITV commentator Ned Boulting was one of those disappointed and told the road.cc Podcast the audience on free-to-air "completely eclipses subscription television" and bemoaning that "the Tour is going to go into a place where, in the UK media landscape, you normally find biathlon and hockey".

That last comment may no longer apply, the Tour de France and all other bike races to appear on TNT Sports channels adjacent to Premier League football, cricket, rugby and its other sports, but Boulting concluded nobody is to blame, just that "not enough of us cared".

"It's nobody's fault. The ASO have a right to monetise their event as they feel fit, and you cannot blame Warner Brothers for wanting exclusivity," he said. "That's their market. It seems quite strange to me that for a long time they were willing or contractually obliged to share the coverage with a much bigger broadcaster. Why would they allow that to persist?

"And from ITV's perspective, if they're losing money, they've got to get out. So none of these three parties, in my opinion, are to blame. But the primary reason why it’s gone is because not enough of us cared."

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