Author Topic: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries  (Read 9939 times)

GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« on: 20 February, 2021, 10:08:38 am »
Just a heads up that GCN have expanded their "race pass" offering to include a load of films. So in addition to being able to watch a whole load of racing either live or catch up - for example UAE tour starts tomorrow, Tour de la Provence is sitting there to watch, as is a load of CX and older races. Kuurne Brussels Kuurne coming up, plus Le Samyn, Strade Bianche (mens and women's for both), Paris Nice etc. All ad free.

They've also got commissioned a load of one hour plus films, with more promised. These can be documentaries - e.g. an in depth look and interview with Colnago, or looking at individual top level cyclists, to record attempts (hour record on an ordinary) or adventure type films. Riding Tour de France stages with 1903 equipment. Climbing a mountain in Chile with bicycles in order to do a 300km descent to the coast - with all the acclimitisation etc needed to do that. 80 days to cycle around the world. They are aiming to put 24 new ones of these up this year.

It's pretty good stuff, and on offer at £19.99 for a year if you get in before the end of February. We'd been happy with that for the racing alone, the extras are a nice bonus.

https://welcome.globalcyclingnetwork.com/gcnplus_en

https://plus.globalcyclingnetwork.com/browse

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #1 on: 20 February, 2021, 09:29:21 pm »
What platforms are they on?
I am often asked, what does YOAV stand for? It stands for Yoav On A Velo

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #2 on: 20 February, 2021, 09:39:04 pm »
Android and iPhone, plus you can just use a web browser.

I use the Android app, plus Chrome on a MacBook. Both stream to a chromecast connected to my telly.

Karla

  • car(e) free
    • Lost Byway - around the world by bike
Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #3 on: 20 February, 2021, 09:40:32 pm »
Their own app/website

As Matt says, their introductory £20 for the race pass plus some interesting docs (I liked Mark Beaumont's RTW two partner) is a good deal. 

[XP]

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #4 on: 21 February, 2021, 08:56:24 am »
Very closely linked to Eurosport  which is no bad thing.
Unfortunately there seem to be some licensing issues with some, especially Belgian , race organisers. This applies equally to Eurosport of course. I think it might be the “ Flanders Classics” organisation.
If I didn’t subscribe to Eurosport App I’d definitely be signing up.

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #5 on: 21 February, 2021, 10:12:09 am »
Mark Beaumont pinched one of my Legend segments when he did that Shortest day thing with Hank.  The start point of their ride is 7 miles from here and boasts my favorite cafe stop, not least because the 7 miles home are downhill.


Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #6 on: 21 February, 2021, 08:10:44 pm »
I’m already subscribed to Eurosport as there’s an app for the Amazon firestick. I’ll see if there’s a GCN app also. The Eurosport subscription was due to run out this month but because of covid, they’ve given me a few extra months free.
I am often asked, what does YOAV stand for? It stands for Yoav On A Velo

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #7 on: 26 February, 2021, 08:30:53 am »
Very closely linked to Eurosport  which is no bad thing.
Unfortunately there seem to be some licensing issues with some, especially Belgian , race organisers. This applies equally to Eurosport of course. I think it might be the “ Flanders Classics” organisation.
If I didn’t subscribe to Eurosport App I’d definitely be signing up.

Excellent news, the licensing issues seem to have been resolved- Nieuwsblad is going to be on the Eurosport/GCN feed.

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #8 on: 26 February, 2021, 08:45:05 am »
And with KBK on Sunday, it's going to be a busy (horizontal) weekend!

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #9 on: 26 February, 2021, 09:10:13 am »
Just for interest, the Holding Company that in simple terms “owns” Eurosport, also now has the controlling interest in GCN.

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #10 on: 26 February, 2021, 09:33:57 am »
I don't think they've been hiding the Eurosport link; at least on their race coverage it's the same presenters and Eurosport logo is present.

They have just added GCN + to the Amazon app store, so it now works on Fire TV without needing to dig out the laptop or phone :thumbsup:

Android TV is supposed to be imminent too.

slope

  • Inclined to distraction
    • Current pedalable joys
Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #11 on: 01 March, 2021, 04:55:52 pm »
Thanks MattH for the heads up.

Me and a couple of others I alerted, have signed up to the £19.99 GCN+ before yesterdays' deadline.

Apart from anything, it's worth it for not having adverts :thumbsup:

Chris S

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #12 on: 01 March, 2021, 06:23:05 pm »
Looks like they had a bit of a 'mare with the K-B-K coverage.

Quote
We'd like to extend our deepest apologies for the technical difficulties experienced during today's stream of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. This isn't the service we promised, nor the one we want to deliver. We're going to look into the root of the issue to try and ensure that something like this doesn't happen again

Probably best to check your infrastructure can cope with an uplift if a lot of folks take up an offer.

I've signed up - £20 isn't much in the grand scheme of things; seems like good value (above notwithstanding).

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #13 on: 03 March, 2021, 06:44:18 pm »
Looks like they had a bit of a 'mare with the K-B-K coverage.

Quote
We'd like to extend our deepest apologies for the technical difficulties experienced during today's stream of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. This isn't the service we promised, nor the one we want to deliver. We're going to look into the root of the issue to try and ensure that something like this doesn't happen again
I got in from my ride, turned it on, intending to rewind and watch from the start of coverage, and found I'd only missed 20 minutes, but there was only 15 k to go. At the time, I thought it was a rewind limit, so I just watched the whole of the women's race first instead, and the men's race was normal on a full replay afterwards.


For the Flanders Classics races, what I heard was that FC had contracted IMG (or someone) to sell the rights on their behalf, IMG asked for a substantial increase over the previous price, so Eurosport/GCN didn't bite, and it's now a game of brinksmanship, between not selling the rights at all, and not having the races to show.

If that's right, we won't know whether other races missing off the list (notably Gent Wevelgem and Amstel Gold) will be shown or not until shortly before the race.

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #14 on: 04 March, 2021, 11:00:30 am »
After much hype from GCN the app has appeared for Amazon fire stick. When I go to activate the app, it shows me a code and directs me to a link to enter that code.  The link just sends me to their app on my I pad and I seem unable to activate it on my fire stick.  Very frustrating, I am assuming teething issues.

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #15 on: 04 March, 2021, 11:07:37 am »
Cancel the above now seems to working. :facepalm:

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #16 on: 14 April, 2021, 02:47:18 pm »
GCN also have various documentaries: we've enjoyed https://plus.globalcyclingnetwork.com/watch/colombia-an-andes-adventure - Jenny Graham and Simon Richardson cycling in Colombia; and one about ex-pro Connor Dunne attempting some 500 mile ultra race in Ireland.

Feanor

  • It's mostly downhill from here.
Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #17 on: 26 November, 2021, 10:00:10 am »
I signed up for a one-month subscription to this the other day, to binge watch some Mark Beaumont and Jenny Graham epics.

Firstly, a comment on the tech:
I was using the GCN+ app on the Amazon Firestick thing plugged into the back of my TV.
The app installed fine, but getting it to register against the account I'd set up on the PC was really klunky.
The TV displayed a 6-digit code you had to enter into a web page on your PC.
This code changed every couple of minutes.
The web page you were directed to would re-direct to a slightly different page every time you tried to visit it!
Sometimes, there was a box to enter the code, which would then fail. Othertimes, the page had no such box.
It took me over 30 mins to get it to finally work.

Then, the search function is useless.
When I searched 'Mark Beaumont', it produced half a dozen hits, including both episodes of the Cairo-Cape Town thing I wanted.
But these were links to only the 2-minute trailers, with no way to get to the actual episodes.
It failed to find the actual episodes.
The only way to find the actual episodes was to manually trawl through the 'category' listings.

But on to the actual content:
It was really superb.

The Mark Beaumont Cairo - Cape Town episodes really gave a sense of the adventure and the landscape (I've done several trips in Southern Africa, not onna bike.) I recognised several of the roads and crossings: I particularly liked the Kazungula Ferry.  I like the way Mark's videos are quite warts-and-all, showing lows as well as highs.

The Jenny Graham episodes I watched were her 1000k training ride for the cancelled TCR, and her ride of the Pan Celtic. She really seems utterly irrepressibly cheerful in the face of anything!

All of these episodes really caught the true sense of what long 1000k rides are like, with the constant focus on food and rest!



Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #18 on: 15 November, 2023, 12:25:00 pm »
ends 19th Dec

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #19 on: 15 November, 2023, 12:34:31 pm »


Bugger.

How do I watch the tour now :(

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #20 on: 15 November, 2023, 01:53:25 pm »
Him: Warner Bros have shutdown GCN+ 😭
Me: what why???
Him: Streaming platforms are all struggling.
Me:HOW WILL WE WATCH THE TOUR

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #21 on: 15 November, 2023, 02:07:33 pm »
I'm quite happy with the ITV4 coverage of the races they show.
Would be good if they picked up some of the other races.

But for other stuff we did use paid-for GCN+ and free S4C.
Probably won't bother/lose interest cos I'm not paying for one of the big channels.

Karla

  • car(e) free
    • Lost Byway - around the world by bike
Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #22 on: 15 November, 2023, 02:29:43 pm »
Drat

How much is Eurosport these days?

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #23 on: 15 November, 2023, 03:22:21 pm »
Drat

How much is Eurosport these days?

Discovery + nowadays https://get.discoveryplus.com/gb/watch-entertainment-and-sport?snb=4. Unhelpfully, the website fails to mention what is included in the 'Basic' and 'Standard'

Re: GCN Plus - streaming racing and documentaries
« Reply #24 on: 15 November, 2023, 03:26:29 pm »
According to here: https://support.discoveryplus.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360018960398

Quote
There are 3 different discovery+ plans you can choose from:

Basic
Stream our on-demand catalogue, plus the following live channels: Animal Planet, Discovery, Discovery History, Discovery Science, DMAX, Food Network, HGTV, ID, Quest, Quest Red, TLC, and Turbo.
(This plan was previously called Entertainment).
Standard
Stream everything included with the Basic plan, plus sports content: Eurosport 1 & 2, cycling, tennis, snooker, motorsports, and the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
(This plan was previously called Entertainment & Sport).
Premium (incl. TNT Sports*)
Stream everything included with the Standard plan, plus TNT Sports: UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches, Premier League games, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP, boxing, UFC, WWE and more.

I think Standard would be enough if you want cycling. Costs £7 a month.