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Makes a few interesting points however conclusion of "It would be hard to believe that the UCI would willingly give up control of the broadcast" is exactly what the UCI did when they partnered with WB/Discovery.
The UCI signed an eight-year partnership with Warner Bros Discovery to organise, promote and hold the broadcast rights of the Mountain Bike World Cup from 2023 for 8 years.
UCI writes the rules, regulations and controls doping while WB/Discovery does organises, promotes and broadcasts the world cups.
It's the same model as used in most World Championship motorsports.....The governing body does the rules, regs, etc everything else is done by the series Promoter; TV rights, calendar, etc
I've been around the competitive side of mountain bikes for over 20 years and have seen this comparison made from the moment I started paying attention to TV coverage. Here is what seems to most commonly be missed...
Fan Base Demographics: One thing we tend to miss in our very small niche of the sporting community is how strange of a group we really are. We're not just fans of the sport, but we all are hugely into participating in the sport. Most other sports do not have this element, where the entire fanbase are also "athletes" themselves. Sure, you have some of this in any sport, but in all the major ball sports, most of the fans rarely, if ever, play the sport. So why do people watch? Its part of the broader culture.
Culture: How does a sport permeate culture? I don't think there is a formula for this, but I do feel time and touch points are required. Time is obvious, the longer something is around the more of a chance people have to "touch" it (or be around it). This is where any sport that can happen in a multitude of environments tend to do better than sports that require one very specific environment. Mountain biking really struggles in that it doesn't really happen in cities the way even road cycling can happen. If I were to guess, however, I'd say if you give us another 30-40 years, you'll see mountain biking achieve similar amounts of coverage, viewership and success as ski racing. Worth noting here, supercross is far and away the most watched form of dirt bike racing. Why? You can "touch" it in a city. Unfortunately, DH mountain biking will always struggle in that it requires vertical drop to be interesting.
Drama: The best thing that could happen to DH mtb isn't getting rid of the UCI, Warner dropping coverage back to Redbull or a new player emerging here. The best thing that could happen would be Netflix making a "Drive to Survive" type documentary on DH mtb. This is the only shortcut I see on the horizon that would really put the sport on the map for a bunch of non mtb type of people in a meaningful way. Sport doesn't sell viewership, drama sells viewership.
Gambling: I'm throwing this out there last, but if a few sportsbooks started making odds on "alternative" sports like DH mtb, we'd see a pop in viewership. As a guy always looking to build a cool company (and currently unemployed), I've actually played with this idea (alternative sports gambling book). LOL.
Given the success of "Unchained" a DH-focused version doesn't feel like too much of a stretch: https://www.shiftactivemedia.com/netflixs-take-on-the-tour-de-france-un…
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