Breaking News: Red Bull to Broadcast 2012 World Cups, DH1 Series Likely Cancelled 23

bturman
12/16/2011 12:06pm
We received information yesterday indicating that Red Bull will very likely be broadcasting the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series online, for free.

Curious about the implications this might have on the DH1 series, Vital MTB asked Freecaster's main man, Ray Dulieu, if it would affect his plans for the widely praised downhill world tour. Would anything change if Red Bull broadcasts the 2012 World Cups?

The answer we received was astonishing. "There is no point in competing with Red Bull," Ray said, "We can't contest with them. We will not be able to provide a better product than what Red Bull can do."

Clearly surprised by the news (which he had also received through a different source), Ray expressed both disappointment and joy. "I have always said that Red Bull was our biggest threat and mountain biking's greatest opportunity. They are providing what the sport needs. The creation of the DH1 Series pushed the UCI and Red Bull to improve their game. If Red Bull hadn't seen Freecaster's numbers, they likely wouldn't be doing this. The fact that they are investing in mountain biking means Freecaster did something right."
The DH1 Series was scheduled to have six pro races, the dates of which were to work with the UCI World Cup schedule. Freecaster.tv planned to broadcast the series in HD, for free, with Rob Warner as the host.

According to Ray, the Red Bull broadcast is rumored to have "10 HD cameras and is a 99.999% done deal."

"DH1 has served it's purpose," Ray told Vital MTB, "At the end of the day, downhill and the sport of mountain biking have benefited."

An official announcement is expected from the UCI or Red Bull in the next few days.
23 comments

View replies to: Breaking News: Red Bull to Broadcast 2012 World Cups, DH1 Series Likely Cancelled

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iceman2058
12 years ago
Having followed this story closely (as closely as possible), quite a few observations:

-RockyRoads were never set up to take over the media rights. They are the series title sponsor. We do not yet know what will happen to overall media rights, broadcasting, independent filmmakers etc. The UCI went out to the market with a procurement excercise to find a new media partner - this is not a last minute thing, they announced that a while back, and now it appears they are ready to make the final selection. So Red Bull would have already been planning for a while, and they obviously know what they can do.

-Freecaster is getting the rough end of the stick for sure. They've helped show what is possible, with great personal investment from the people involved (I doubt it ever turned into the money factory some are claiming it is - otherwise they would not have had an issue to pay the UCI what they were asking for 2012). I can't say I approve of the UCI's action here, because Freecaster should have been given the opportunity to continue what they have started...but it's a free market eventually. I was really surprised to see DH1 fail to gather up the Facebook followers they were looking for, and I think that really tells a story in itself. Cedric Gracia has 90k followers, and DH1 can't even make 20k? OK, there is only ONE CG, but still... :-).

-Red Bull. Well, they are powerful, but I hope they do this the "freecaster way". Meaning actual live streaming (not the re-run with added commentary stuff they do with Warner for X-fighters for example). And yes, whatever you do, bring in WARNER!!!

-UCI. Well, they've really come across heavy-handed on this one. They way they've reacted to DH1 really tells a story. Announcing the creation of the "European UCI cup" (the former IXS cup), talking about labelling certain Enduro series, elite teams are given FREE entries for the 2012 worldcups - that was apparently announced on Sep 26 - quite possibly could have deterred some teams from looking into DH1. Being threatened and protecting your business is certainly normal, and in the end, if it ups the ante for everybody, then it's a good thing. Still, they've clearly outmanouvered their old media partner Freecaster, which really sucks.

-other media players: the UCI dropped the ball big time when they got into a war with DirtTV over filming rights at the last Worlds. One can only hope they learned from that, and that they will realize that all these independent film-makers are equally crucial to the growth of the sport - many of them carry a heavy load purely on passion for the sport, so recognize that, and don't screw them over for a quick buck! Red Bull, if you're listening - let everybody play!

-RockyRoads: all I can say is, there's webtraffic, and there's webtraffic...
No pissing in my own beer, but really, they have it all to prove still at this point (check out the new logo and website! I mean, damn...). Let's hope they are for real, and that they can actually take our sport forward...(there's always hope).
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Xavier_Kelsall
12 years ago
well done to Ray for what he's done. Would be good to see him cover the smaller home grown events. I prefer edgey stuff.
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piggy
12 years ago
bummed but stoked is right. i think ultimately a 2 part series was doomed - e.g. even snowboarding had to eventually fold and full under the FIS umbrella. i do think freecaster did a mostly good job, and it's tough to see them not around to reap some of the rewards of what they helped create. still, solid coverage via redbull should be rad.
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NoahColorado
12 years ago
How about if Freecaster just streams solid, existing events like the Canadian Open, Willengen Wheels of Speed, US Open, etc. I don't think we "needed" a new series, just more coverage of whats already out there. Let's grow this sport organically. Thanks Red Bull, and thanks Freecaster!
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sloth
12 years ago
It was inevitable at some stage Red Bull was going to get involved with DH in some way to give them exposure, as part of a team or something. Its great news for Mountain biking well done RedBull.
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mtloldskooler
12 years ago
Disappointed for DH1. It would have been nice to see a series built around the riders, rather than advertising revenue. I know that money is a part of the game, but I can't help to think that this was a snake move on the part of Red Bull--maybe waiting to see if DH1 could do all the legwork and gather everybody up. A major corporation like Red Bull rarely comes in this late in the game; their budgets, planning, logistics are generally already set up for the next season. I hope I'm wrong; I've been a big fan of Red Bull for the support they give to sports like snowboarding, fmx, etc, and I'm thrilled to see them come into MTB in a big way. I just feel terrible that all of the hard work that went into DH1 disappears in a flash. And paradoxically, as much as I'm happy to see Red Bull come into MTB in such a major way, I kind of feel that MTB sold a little part of its soul to The Man. But hey, a lot of good could come of this, it's a big day for MTB.

This concludes my long winded-ass analysis lol.
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t.martin
12 years ago
That should free up freecaster to broadcast the other popular events that take place around the world that never get the coverage they deserve. I think this may be a good move for both parties. Redbull will certainly add some momentum to our sport and hopefully freecaster will add diversity by covering events like The Valparaiso Cerro Abajo. We love you Rob Warner!
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k.shiz
12 years ago
A million dollars in cameras is one hurdle. Paying ten more people to run them properly all year is the next obstacle...
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DHmental
12 years ago
huh? I thought rockyroads was the UCI's new media mogul, haha what a joke.
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k.shiz
12 years ago
Right, up the anti against ten HD broadcast cameras that run over a hundred grand each... I think Freecaster knows what their budget is compared to Red Bull.
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mtbfree
12 years ago
Definitely bummed that Red-bull basically boned freecaster on this deal, but I kind of thought it was stupid to have two separate series that are basically the same just because of broadcasting disputes.
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tomgrundy
12 years ago
Bit worried as to what this means for us filmmakers. I can imagine Red Bull are a hell of a force to contend with when it comes to filming rights.
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Andy_Barlow
12 years ago
This is Awesome for downhill, like what scriz said about Rob Warner lets just hope he go's over to Redbull like like what scriz said he's allready done X Fighters..
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Liam Renaut
12 years ago
Nah screw that, 10 HD cameras and were throwing in the towel, pfft! let's up the anti freecaster!!
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crazy-canuck
12 years ago
So stoked for sport right now. Bummed for freecaster and their DH1 series, but this should really help push the sport to new levels in every way.
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sspomer
12 years ago
warner does a lot of announcing for red bull events, so it would seem logical he'd be part of the program.
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scriz
12 years ago
'guess that is what Whiteley was getting at. So was RockyRoads just a pawn? Bummed for DH1, but stoked for free/better coverage, and I sincerely hope RedBull picks up Warner. That would be a logical connection since he's already done X fighters.
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bdamschen
12 years ago
Bummed!

..but stoked!


...but bummed!.

but stoked!

So freakin confused right now!