Figure Skating Back On Eurosport

[s1alker]

Watching some of the replays on Eurosport, Simon Reed provides commentary! Last year there was none iirc.

 

[DSQ]

Exactly why I’m going with the VPN route.

I wish Eurosport would put it on the television channels instead of their player (even if at very inconvenient hours). I DM’ed Eurosport on Instagram asking whether they plan on showing figure skating on tv this season, but I’m not very confident they will do so.

If they respond please tell us!

yeah I got it wrong it was Simon not Chris. Simon works for Eurosport but I’m not sure he’s based in France. I think Eurosport have offices in London.

 

[oaponice]

Tried Opera but they no longer provide VPN.

 

[NaVi]

Tried Opera but they no longer provide VPN.

I use zenmate with chrome.

I use a custom chrome profile by using the "--user-data-dir=" flag so that only the youtube stream goes through the vpn.

I only use it at 480p and somtimes 360p though. Not sure how well that works at higher stream rates.

 

[Winnie_20]

Noticed yesterday that Eurosport lists all events of the Cup of China. Not the most interesting GP this year by any stretch of the imagination, but better than no GP at all.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Noticed yesterday that Eurosport lists all events of the Cup of China. Not the most interesting GP this year by any stretch of the imagination, but better than no GP at all.

Mmmmm. The thing that jumps out at me is that there is still no coverage on the linear TV channels.

I wasn’t expecting there to be LIVE coverage of Skate America on the linear channels due to most of the segments being held at times when the channels are off air overnight. But, I was expecting there to LIVE coverage of the Cup Of China, as the segments will be held at times that the channels are on air.

I had a look at some of the schedule pages on the websites for some of the main Eurosport versions, and they are a nightmare. So many different layouts!

But, apart from the countries where Eurosport still has the MotoGP rights, there is nothing being shown LIVE on either Eurosport 1 or Eurosport 2 on Friday morning. So, there is no reason to not show the Cup Of China Short programmes on one of the TV channels.

Admittedly, on Saturday morning there is LIVE cycling and LIVE canoe slalom (?!) being shown in the countries where they don’t have the MotoGP rights. But, there is nothing to stop them showing delayed coverage of the Free Skates during the week. Let’s face it, there is a lot less sport going on than normal, so there is plenty of time to fill in the schedules.

It looks like we’re stuck with only being able to watch on the internet. :disappointing:

I really hope this is not the case if and when we have Euros and Worlds.

CaroLiza_fan


British Eurosport (All times GMT)

Friday 6th November 2020
PLAY 07:00 – 08:10 Short Dance LIVE
PLAY 08:40 – 09:30 Ladies Short LIVE
PLAY 10:00 – 10:50 Men’s Short LIVE
PLAY 11:20 – 12:00 Pairs Short LIVE

Saturday 7th November 2020
PLAY 06:30 – 07:15 Free Dance LIVE
PLAY 07:45 – 08:40 Ladies Free LIVE
PLAY 09:00 – 10:05 Men’s Free LIVE
PLAY 10:25 – 12:15 Pairs Free LIVE

Sunday 8th November 2020
PLAY 06:25 – 08:30 Gala Exhibition LIVE


NOTE: This is all that is available on the British Eurosport Player at the moment. I will update the list in a few days, when there are more days available.

 

[Tutto]

Mmmmm. The thing that jumps out at me is that there is still no coverage on the linear TV channels.

I wasn’t expecting there to be LIVE coverage of Skate America on the linear channels due to most of the segments being held at times when the channels are off air overnight. But, I was expecting there to LIVE coverage of the Cup Of China, as the segments will be held at times that the channels are on air.

I had a look at some of the schedule pages on the websites for some of the main Eurosport versions, and they are a nightmare. So many different layouts!

But, apart from the countries where Eurosport still has the MotoGP rights, there is nothing being shown LIVE on either Eurosport 1 or Eurosport 2 on Friday morning. So, there is no reason to not show the Cup Of China Short programmes one of the TV channels.

Admittedly, on Saturday morning there is LIVE cycling and LIVE canoe slalom (?!) being shown in the countries where they don’t have the MotoGP rights. But, there is nothing to stop them showing delayed coverage of the Free Skates during the week. Let’s face it, there is a lot less sport going on than normal, so there is plenty of time to fill in the schedules.

It looks like we’re stuck with only being able to watch on the internet. :disappointing:

I really hope this is not the case if and when we have Euros and Worlds.

CaroLiza_fan


British Eurosport (All times GMT)

Friday 6th November 2020
PLAY 07:00 – 08:10 Short Dance LIVE
PLAY 08:40 – 09:30 Ladies Short LIVE
PLAY 10:00 – 10:50 Men’s Short LIVE
PLAY 11:20 – 12:00 Pairs Short LIVE

Saturday 7th November 2020
PLAY 06:30 – 07:15 Free Dance LIVE
PLAY 07:45 – 08:40 Ladies Free LIVE


NOTE: This is all that is available on the British Eurosport Player at the moment. I will update the list in a few days, when there are more days available.

I must say I am bitterly disappointed, have been checking the TV listings daily but alas - nothing ..., what is the most effective way to communicate with Eurosport I wonder? We need to let them know that there are people who are not happy at all, they bought the rights after all. Euros & Worlds not certain either (but then again we even don't know if these will take place at all ...sigh...)

 

[Winnie_20]

I have to admit, I didn’t even notice that it’s not being aired on television. Sorry. I haven’t watched Eurosport via their TV channels in a Very Long Time. Via AppleTV (on the TV) is just more convenient, and no commercials!

 

[labgoat]

How would an American be able to view Eurosport? Could I access past events? I do have a VPN.

 

[Winnie_20]

How would an American be able to view Eurosport? Could I access past events? I do have a VPN.

Assuming you’re trying to avoid illegal streams, then you would need to buy a subscription to the Eurosport Player.

It’s cheaper to just watch the ISU youtube stream, though. Won’t cost you a cent, as you already have a VPN, and it’s the exact same stream with same commentary (!).

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

How would an American be able to view Eurosport? Could I access past events? I do have a VPN.

If you have a VPN, I think you'd be better using it to view the stream on the ISU YouTube channel. The coverage is exactly the same on both services. So, it would make more sense to watch it for free on YouTube, than to pay to watch it on the Eurosport Player.

If you want to have a look around the Eurosport Player, here is where you can find it:

https://www.eurosportplayer.com/

As for accessing past events, things on the Eurosport Player do not stay up forever. They eventually expire. It used to be that things that were shown on the linear channels would stay up for 7 days, and things that were shown only on the Player would stay up for 30 days. But now, things are staying up for longer.

The problem is that they don't tell you any more when each video expires! And I haven't been able to detect any patterns.

At least on YouTube you know that, if the record companies don't put in a claim that gets them zapped, the archived streams will remain there.

I hope this helps you in working out what is the best course of action for you.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[DSQ]

I don’t think you can buy Eurosport player without a European card even if you use a VPN but using PayPal might be a way round it.

However like Winnie says the YouTube stream is the same as the Eurosport one so I wouldn’t pay if I were you.

I’d love to speak with the Eurosport owners and ask why they are selling their commentary to the ISU but haven’t blocked it from being free in all their markets.

 

[Lunalovesskating]

Eurosport offically bought the rights from Infront to broadcast figure skating in Europe until summer 2023. This includes the GP, Europeans, 4CC and Worlds. This probably means that the countries who were able to watch SKAM via the ISU channel (Germany etc.) will no longer be able to do that.

TV-Rechte: Eurosport landet Wintersport-Deal

Der Discovery-Sportsender hat eine Vereinbarung mit Infront zur europaweiten Ausstrahlung von Live-Wintersportereignissen getroffen.

www.digitalfernsehen.de

 

[Winnie_20]

Eurosport offically bought the rights from Infront to broadcast figure skating in Europe until summer 2023.

Well well well, so looks like things are going back to normal after last season's weirdness? But then there's still that ISU youtube stream...

I'll just pretend I understand what's going on and smile and nod and in the meantime enjoy the fact that I now have two steady high-quality official livestreams to watch instead of just one.

 

[Tutto]

Mmmmm. The thing that jumps out at me is that there is still no coverage on the linear TV channels.

I wasn’t expecting there to be LIVE coverage of Skate America on the linear channels due to most of the segments being held at times when the channels are off air overnight. But, I was expecting there to LIVE coverage of the Cup Of China, as the segments will be held at times that the channels are on air.

I had a look at some of the schedule pages on the websites for some of the main Eurosport versions, and they are a nightmare. So many different layouts!

But, apart from the countries where Eurosport still has the MotoGP rights, there is nothing being shown LIVE on either Eurosport 1 or Eurosport 2 on Friday morning. So, there is no reason to not show the Cup Of China Short programmes on one of the TV channels.

Admittedly, on Saturday morning there is LIVE cycling and LIVE canoe slalom (?!) being shown in the countries where they don’t have the MotoGP rights. But, there is nothing to stop them showing delayed coverage of the Free Skates during the week. Let’s face it, there is a lot less sport going on than normal, so there is plenty of time to fill in the schedules.

It looks like we’re stuck with only being able to watch on the internet. :disappointing:

I really hope this is not the case if and when we have Euros and Worlds.

CaroLiza_fan

I used a live chat option on eurosport.co.uk to try and find out more. Here what I've got: Eurosport (should I say Discovery?) confirm that they got broadcasting rights for FS including TV coverage. The guy I 'spoke' to was only interested in selling me Eurosport Player but I kept pressing my point and eventually he checked the contract again and admitted that the ISU championships to be shown on the linear channels. (!) But before that there was a hilarious moment when after some lengthy exchange he suddenly asked me if there was swimming as well. - err?!! Which sport do you think we are talking about I had to ask, Oh dear there are people who never even heard of figure skating (judging by his name he was from India) I suggested under ice swimming might be difficult but my sarcasm, alas, was lost on him Anyway, that gaffe prompted him to part with the information I was after. Now fingers crossed the Euros & Worlds not cancelled! I am now going to contact BESP again and suggest that instead of running old programs again & again they might actually show Cup of Russia - not much hope but will try anyway!

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I used a live chat option on eurosport.co.uk to try and find out more. Here what I've got: Eurosport (should I say Discovery?) confirm that they got broadcasting rights for FS including TV coverage. The guy I 'spoke' to was only interested in selling me Eurosport Player but I kept pressing my point and eventually he checked the contract again and admitted that the ISU championships to be shown on the linear channels. (!) But before that there was a hilarious moment when after some lengthy exchange he suddenly asked me if there was swimming as well. - err?!! Which sport do you think we are talking about I had to ask, Oh dear there are people who even never heard of figure skating (judging by his name he was from India) I suggested under ice swimming might be difficult but my sarcasm, alas, was lost on him Anyway, that gaffe prompted him to part with the information I was after. Now fingers crossed the Euros & Worlds not cancelled! I am now going to contact BESP again and suggest that instead of running old programs again & again they might actually show Cup of Russia - not much hope but will try anyway!

It never ceases to amaze me how clueless some "customer service" people can be.

But, that is very good news that Eurosport plans to put Euros and Worlds on the linear TV channels.

Sure, you can understand them wanting to sell as many Eurosport Player subscriptions as they can, as all the money is going directly to them rather than going through a middle man (Sky, Virgin, etc). But, not everybody has reliable internet access. Or a fast enough connection to give them pictures that are as good as you get on the TV.

Incidentally, I read a few days ago that Discovery are going to be making further changes to their online offering this month. A year ago, Quest OD was rebranded as dPlay, and expanded to include programmes from Discovery's other Free To Air channels (including the channels they had recently bought from UKTV). Well, it is now undergoing another rebrand, to Discovery+, and will now have a subscription level which includes programmes from their pay TV channels.

Eurosport Player is staying as a separate service. But, I would not be surprised if, in the long run, it gets integrated into Discovery+. Let's face it, there are getting too many streaming services nowadays, and people will pick and choose what they want to subscribe to. So, it is better for the media companies to have one service to cover all their channels, as it would attract a wider range of people. That's what ViacomCBS are doing now that they have re-merged. Which is why I am surprised that when Peacock launched in America, Comcast only moved some things over from NBC Sports Gold rather than the whole shebang.

I know that pretty much all of the broadcasting world disagrees with me, but I still don't think streaming is a good thing. Even though I do stream things, I much prefer watching them on normal TV. So, it is great news that the Majors will be shown on normal TV.

Thank you for letting us know!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Winnie_20]

Even though I do stream things, I much prefer watching them on normal TV. So, it is great news that the Majors will be shown on normal TV.

The thing is, for many people, streaming equals watching on TV.
There is no difference for me between firing up the mediabox and firing up the PS4 or the AppleTV, except that, well, the latter two actually work faster for me. They are all just boxes, they all run via the fiberglass network, they are all connected to the TV via HDMI, and the result is the exact same thing: I watch on my television.
I'l be honest, if it were up to me, I would have thrown out the mediabox / 'normal' TV subscription many years ago (there's nothing on those channels I watch). ;-)

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Just further to my discussion above about Discovery+, I read the other day that a TV service provider that I hadn’t come across before, Megogo, had signed a deal with Discovery to launch Discovery+ in Eastern Europe. And the story specifically said that Eurosport content would be included.

So, Discovery might be experimenting with having a single service over there to see if it is popular. And if it is, then it could pave the way for Eurosport Player to be merged into Discovery+ in other markets in the future.

That said, I see that if you go to the Motor Trend On Demand website, you can still subscribe to it in the UK, even though it’s content is now on Discovery+.

[Just for context, Discovery bought a stake in the publishers of Motor Trend magazine in 2017. About a year afterwards, Discovery’s motoring channel, Velocity (the American equivalent of our Discovery Turbo), was rebranded as Motor Trend].

---

Right, I have made a discovery (pun not intended). During the week of Skate America, there were some changes made to the Eurosport Player. And it is only now that I have realised the impact it has had.

On the pages for the sports, each section on the page is now on a single line, and you have arrow buttons to scroll along the line. And the thumbnails in all the sections except for the “Latest” section are much smaller.

In the “Latest” section, the tiles for each broadcast are exactly the same size that they used to be. However, it now only lists the 3 most recent broadcasts for that sport. To be honest, I don’t see the point in having a “Latest” section, as everything that has been archived is also listed in individually dated sections below it, starting with the most recent.

In these individually dated sections, the layout of the tiles for each broadcast are the same as in the “Latest” section, but they are smaller. The result is that you can now fit 4 ½ tiles across the page, rather than the 3 that you used to have.

In the “Upcoming” section, the writing is now alongside the thumbnail rather than below it. So, each broadcast actually still takes up the amount of horizontal space on the page that it used to.

The difference is that now, rather than listing all the broadcasts of that sport that are coming up in the next 7 days, it only lists the first 6 broadcasts. That is why for each of the first 2 GP’s, the “Upcoming” section only had the 4 SP segments and the first 2 FS segments listed. And why I was panicking that Eurosport wasn’t going to be showing everything.

If you go into the daily schedule, all the segments, as well as the Gala, are there.

As a result of this discovery, I am actually able to provide a full schedule for the Cup Of Russia from the start this week.

Anyway, I hate this new layout. It was so much easier to see just what was there when they had multiple lines in each section, and you just had to scroll down the page.

But, I suppose this is yet another example of websites now being designed primarily for display on mobile phones, and not caring about those of us that still use computers.

CaroLiza_fan


British Eurosport (All times GMT)

Friday 20th November 2020
PLAY 10:30 – 12:05 Men’s Short LIVE
PLAY 12:30 – 13:50 Short Dance LIVE
PLAY 14:00 – 16:10 Pairs Short LIVE
PLAY 16:25 – 18:00 Ladies Short LIVE

Saturday 21st November 2020
PLAY 10:30 – 12:20 Men’s Free LIVE
PLAY 12:40 – 14:15 Free Dance LIVE
PLAY 14:30 – 15:50 Pairs Free LIVE
PLAY 16:10 – 18:00 Ladies Free LIVE

Sunday 22nd November 2020
PLAY 11:00 – 14:30 Gala Exhibition LIVE

 

[balabam]

The answer to my question regarding to broadcating of figure skating on Eurosport TV channels - from Czech Eurosport .
They updated the initial answer after 3 weeks without my reply or additional question - so they don't forget and they definitely care for sure.

Dobrý den, podle vyjádření kolegů v centrále je to tak, jak píšete, závody Grand Prix se budou vysílat pouze na Eurosport Playeru. Lineárně (tj. v televizi) je v plánu vysílání evropského a světového šampionátu, záleží na definitivním potvrzení kalendáře a samozřejmě okolnostech ohledně boje s Covidem-19

Translation of the answer for non Czechs and non Slovaks

Hello, according to colleagues from headquarters,it is as you write, Grand Prix competitions will only be broadcasted on Eurosport Player. Linear broadcast (i.e. on television) - it is in our plan to broadcast the European and World Championships, it depends on the final confirmation of the calendar and, of course, the circumstances regarding the fight with Covid-19

 

[La Rhumba]

Eurosport offically bought the rights from Infront to broadcast figure skating in Europe until summer 2023. This includes the GP, Europeans, 4CC and Worlds. This probably means that the countries who were able to watch SKAM via the ISU channel (Germany etc.) will no longer be able to do that.

TV-Rechte: Eurosport landet Wintersport-Deal

Der Discovery-Sportsender hat eine Vereinbarung mit Infront zur europaweiten Ausstrahlung von Live-Wintersportereignissen getroffen.

www.digitalfernsehen.de

Thanks for all the updates and information about this topic. So typical of an upstart commercial company buying up rights, disrupting a sport's viewers, and then backs out of a deal, selling it on to another supplier involving different subscriptions!

I successfully watched and enjoyed ALL of Rostelecom Cup live (as it's the only GP in the European timezone this season) on my Opera VPN installed on my tablet. Then lo and behold I tried to watch today's Gala and I am geo-blocked????? I tried watching Russian Channel 1 coverage on Youtube, again I am Geo-blocked. So either Opera VPN isn't working anymore, or they've cottoned on to this and made extra security restrictions? I don't know how these things work, not being very technical, but having it now confirmed that Eurosport Player will show Europeans and Worlds until 2023, and received an email from Eurosport offering me a year's subscription for £19.99 (half price) I will go down that route, as I don't want to risk any future VPN if I installed one, not working on a day when I was ready to watch, like today, being left very frustrated. Plus I could record the British Skater's performances from Eurosport on my laptop from the Player, as I did in previous seasons. We can't rely on the BBC in the UK to show Skating, and even when they did we never got any SPs/RDs just the Free Dances/Programmes.

So it's been fun, we had free coverage of the sport we love via the ISU Channel on Youtube, but now back to paying for it, just to be sure. I remember it was the hideous frustration of illegal streams that prompted me to buy the Eurosport Player subscription in the first place several seasons ago. If I buy it today, I can watch the Rostelecom Gala on catch up on the Player hopefully, and I'll be covered till next November's Black Friday deals for the season after that. ;-)