# NBC Sports Gold



## amicus (Mar 2, 2007)

Anyone had any experience in using this platform to view cycling events?


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## stogies4life (Apr 25, 2012)

I've had it since March and I like it. I had to get a Roku so i could view it on my tv.


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## El Scorcho (Dec 14, 2005)

I bought it last year for the Tour. It has been nice to have, I don't love the Paul/Phil duo or the announcers that NBC has signed on, they can't compete with the blokes over on Eurosport. 
I do like that you can replay the event anytime.


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## Opus51569 (Jul 21, 2009)

I had been using CyclingTV but their subscription was $69.99/year and the quality wasn't great. But I did get to watch a number of European races I hadn't heard of.

Recently I switched to NBC and so far I like it. No commercials. Complete stages, or significant (3hrs.) chunks of stages. Better picture quality. $39.99/year. Fewer races overall, but more big tours. I just wish they carried the Giro.

I missed last years TdF, so I'm going back and watching it now.


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## stogies4life (Apr 25, 2012)

Just saw this NBC Sports Gold adds 15 races to streaming service | VeloNews.com


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## J.R. (Sep 14, 2009)

I've used it for 2+ years and really like it. They don't have nearly all the races but for the ones they cover I think it's pretty good.


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

My opinion is it's too expensive, esp when I'm already paying for both NBC and NBCSports on my Satellite Dish.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Me and Sogno's go-to channel to watch bicycle races. If possible, that's where we go.


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

Its now 39?
I liked it 2 years ago when I paid 29 just for TdF, since that is pretty much the only thing I purposefully watch on TV.
When they made it a package at 29, I was more happied.
$39 is pressing it. Esp when I can click enough eurosport links until I find one and see most of the other races for free.

The coverage itself is pretty good.


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## OldChipper (May 15, 2011)

Going to have to look into this. Fubo.tv was awesome for the Giro but has now become completely useless. It really is a shame as it started out with great promise. Don't know what happened over there or if it's any better for other sports or entertainment (though I can't imagine that it is, since for e.g. you can only scroll forward 4 hours in their guide so forget about setting DVR timers for tomorrow or the next day etc.), but I just cancelled as I got tired of their excuses and they no longer list coverage of the other major tours - and their incompetence caused me to miss the entire Dauphine'.


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## MoonHowl (Oct 5, 2008)

I also access through my Roku and really like it. I recently cut the cord so freed up some $$ to watch something I really want to watch without commercials and on my schedule. However, if they keep jacking up their prices year after year (like cable) I am sure I will end up dropping it at some point.


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## flattire (Jan 29, 2004)

I've had it a couple of years. I think it's great. The quality is excellent and I don't even have a top tier internet speed. It's far better than the quality of the typical you tube rerun or the steephill feed. I don't mind Phil and Paul but they are not on all the races, the other announcers they are using are fine with me for the most part. I love that I can access the feed any time later in the day with no effort.

I have a problem with the feed getting dropped randomly or crashing the browser when using FireFox. It works flawlessly on Internet Explorer however. I have Windows 7. The app works well also. I got stuck in the Phoenix airport all night last night and using an android tablet watched a few stages of the Dauphine and the Tour de Swiss!

If all you are interested in is Le Tour it may be a bit pricey, but there are a lot of other races.


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

I looked at the NBC package. It is getting too pricey.
I am going to get a VPN service for July, and practice my Italian or French listening skills.

I came across "expressvpn." If anyone has suggestions for vpn service, that can be cancelled after 1 month, please post details.


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

I'm with PJay. The VPN is looking like the best option. Would prefer to get a Spanish feed as at least I can pick out some words with that. However, I'll still take whatever I can get.


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## jwgd (Feb 28, 2005)

The Opera browser has a built-in VPN. I've had good luck using it for the UCI's live cyclocross streams.

Free VPN | Browser with built-in VPN | Download | Opera


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

NBC Gold just charged my account for a second year.

I have sent off a note asking to get that cancelled - the "agreement" says to contact "customer service," but gives no guidance on where or how to do that.

So, I just sent messages to three NBC emails I could locate. So, my "cancel subscription" went to the same place where y'all are asking to have "Will and Grace" renewed.

Sigh.

I also did a charge dispute with Amex. We will see how all of this goes.


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## amicus (Mar 2, 2007)

You may cancel your subscription to NBC Sports Gold by contacting customer support at *[email protected]*. If you cancel your subscription, the cancellation will go into effect at the end of the current subscription period. While your sports pass for your current subscription period will remain active, your subscription will not be automatically renewed for the next subscription period. We generally DO NOT provide CREDIT, REFUNDS, or PRORATED BILLING for subscriptions that are cancelled prior to the end of the current subscription period.


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## stogies4life (Apr 25, 2012)

Are you sure it's a second one. Only reason why ask is I joined earlier this year before the current 17 into 18 year starts. I had an issue with a card and was told that payment would be taken the week of the 18th. I have a financial secretary who watches all those numbers and she thought same thing.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


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## amicus (Mar 2, 2007)

stogies4life said:


> Are you sure it's a second one. Only reason why ask is I joined earlier this year before the current 17 into 18 year starts. I had an issue with a card and was told that payment would be taken the week of the 18th. I have a financial secretary who watches all those numbers and she thought same thing.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


I can't specifically address your particular situation but this was the statement from NBC Gold that I found on their website. One would think that if one subscribed to a particular period then it follows that you would have to renew again but a lot of these sites automatically renew without your consent. That always ticked me off, so I sympathize with your concern.


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## flattire (Jan 29, 2004)

NBC attempted to renew my subscription a week or two ago. It didn't go through because the card on file was closed. I updated my may card info and it will renew on the 28th of June according to the email they sent me. Yes, renewal is automatic every year once they have your card on file. They got your consent when you first subscribed. Don't forget to read the fine print! I am not fond of that approach but that is how they do it and I hope you can get a refund.


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## stogies4life (Apr 25, 2012)

flattire said:


> NBC attempted to renew my subscription a week or two ago. It didn't go through because the card on file was closed. I updated my may card info and it will renew on the 28th of June according to the email they sent me. Yes, renewal is automatic every year once they have your card on file. They got your consent when you first subscribed. Don't forget to read the fine print! I am not fond of that approach but that is how they do it and I hope you can get a refund.


That was the same issue I had but I couldn't update my card on their site. After a couple of emails, I was told that the charge was coming out the week of the 18th and when I got the email for that, I could follow the link and then update my card.


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

amicus said:


> I can't specifically address your particular situation but this was the statement from NBC Gold that I found on their website. One would think that if one subscribed to a particular period then it follows that you would have to renew again but a lot of these sites automatically renew without your consent. That always ticked me off, so I sympathize with your concern.


Auto renewal is one thing.

Taking carte blanche to raise an auto-renewal 33% is too much.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

amicus said:


> Anyone had any experience in using this platform to view cycling events?


resurrecting this thread. With the TdF starting tomorrow what is the better option NBC or Fubo? Does either offer a summary show versus just streaming?


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## stogies4life (Apr 25, 2012)

Can't speak to Fubo, nbcsg doesn't have a set show but the announcers do a summary with highlights,podiums, and interview(s) at the end.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

stogies4life said:


> Can't speak to Fubo, nbcsg doesn't have a set show but the announcers do a summary with highlights,podiums, and interview(s) at the end.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


Thanks. I decided to go ahead on try the NBC app


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

ExpressVPN works very easily. You can get it plugged in to Firefox - you press the button, then choose which location from which to VPN.

Match that location with a location from cyclingfans.com and you are almost as gold as NBC Sports Gold!

-I did figure out how to cancel said NBC package.


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## troutmd (Sep 7, 2007)

If the cycling industry is interested in USA growth of their sport they need to fund the public viewing of big events. Otherwise it remain a niche activity.


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## durkind (May 24, 2004)

Why no Phil and Paul on NBC Gold? I got the Aussie team


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## burgrat (Nov 18, 2005)

durkind said:


> Why no Phil and Paul on NBC Gold? I got the Aussie team


I would pay for it then. I grew up with Phil and Paul's commentary, but I honestly can't stand them after their idiotic loyalty to Lance, Phil's constantly mixing up riders (Davis Phinney (instead of Taylor) multiple times today, is that Eric or Rick Zabel?, etc.), and Paul constantly saying things like "the peloton is _literally_ exploding". No Paul, they are not.


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## durkind (May 24, 2004)

I'm not arguing they are the best announcers I'm asking why they weren't on NBC gold as I thought they had contracts with NBC.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

durkind said:


> I'm not arguing they are the best announcers I'm asking why they weren't on NBC gold as I thought they had contracts with NBC.


They do...but only on TV it seems.

I suspect it has to do with the streaming not having commercial breaks, in addition to the far longer broadcast time. Gold was live at 5AM. US Central, I don't think TV started today until 2 or 3 hours later.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

troutmd said:


> If the cycling industry is interested in USA growth of their sport they need to fund the public viewing of big events. Otherwise it remain a niche activity.


I am not sure that would help. If the Tour were showing free on NBC it probably would get lower ratings than bowling or beach volleyball. Until there is another American contender, people are not going to watch


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## troutmd (Sep 7, 2007)

DaveG said:


> I am not sure that would help. If the Tour were showing free on NBC it probably would get lower ratings than bowling or beach volleyball. Until there is another American contender, people are not going to watch


Given the enourmous cadre of USA talent sounds like another dismal and flacid growth strategy.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

troutmd said:


> Given the enourmous cadre of USA talent sounds like another dismal and flacid growth strategy.



The only sports people in the USA actually care about, and the only ones US sports broadcasters know how to broadcast on TV...are NASCAR, NFL/NCAA football and NBA/NCAA basketball. And in summer Olympic season-diving and "women's" gymnastics. I.e. sports where you can take 6 minute advert breaks every 4 minutes.

They know where the money and growth is in the USA...it ain't cycling.


Cycles and cycling are what most people in the USA consider entitled MAMILs worthy of being run-off the road.


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## stogies4life (Apr 25, 2012)

Marc said:


> They do...but only on TV it seems.
> 
> I suspect it has to do with the streaming not having commercial breaks, in addition to the far longer broadcast time. Gold was live at 5AM. US Central, I don't think TV started today until 2 or 3 hours later.


Didn't know they were on at 5 thought the guide on roku gave 8am Central so I didn't even bother. I will say that the audio quality is very choppy, hope they get that fixed


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

stogies4life said:


> Didn't know they were on at 5 thought the guide on roku gave 8am Central so I didn't even bother. I will say that the audio quality is very choppy, hope they get that fixed


Yea not sure what the deal with the audio was.

I didn't start watching until 630AM...only way I get up at 0500 is in high-summer to crank out miles before the wicked heat/humidity hits, not to watch video.


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## OldChipper (May 15, 2011)

Anyone using AppleTV to view NBCSG? Can't figure out how to fast forward etc. The "instructions" say "light tap to FF, Rewind, etc." but when I light tap, I either get nothing or random FF or REW, can't seem to "scrub" forward/backward.


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

Marc said:


> The only sports people in the USA actually care about, and the only ones US sports broadcasters know how to broadcast on TV...are NASCAR, NFL/NCAA football and NBA/NCAA basketball. And in summer Olympic season-diving and "women's" gymnastics. I.e. sports where you can take 6 minute advert breaks every 4 minutes.
> 
> They know where the money and growth is in the USA...it ain't cycling.
> 
> ...


Pretty much this. The NHL can't even get broadcast time and there have been plenty of American stars in that sport over the years. If the NHL can't get fans cycling is never going to be anything more than a niche sport. As for NBC Gold forget it. I prefer either Spanish or Italian broadcasts. At least that way I might actually learn another language in the process plus not having to listen announcers who seem to not care about some teams and only care about a handful of riders or one or two teams. Or in the case of Phil and Paul if I or we can't figure out what they are talking about to begin with, I'd really rather have a the broadcast in another language at least there is a good reason I can't understand it.


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## troutmd (Sep 7, 2007)

Marc said:


> The only sports people in the USA actually care about, and the only ones US sports broadcasters know how to broadcast on TV...are NASCAR, NFL/NCAA football and NBA/NCAA basketball. And in summer Olympic season-diving and "women's" gymnastics. I.e. sports where you can take 6 minute advert breaks every 4 minutes.
> 
> They know where the money and growth is in the USA...it ain't cycling.
> 
> ...


Who would have known Amigo ... cycling the dead sport. Just think. Once Kodak relinquished its right to digital photography too.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

troutmd said:


> Who would have known Amigo ... cycling the dead sport. Just think. Once Kodak relinquished its right to digital photography too.



Today you saw more people roadside in the town of Dusseldorf than you ever see roadside all week long at Tour of California or the now-defunct US Pro Challenge.....or probably any US race for that matter. Hell. More people tried to sign up for Dirty Kanza 200, and DDOSed BikeReg in the process, than you ever see roadside at Tour of California.


The way US broadcasters do business....60-70% commercials/fluff 30% content...most US cyclists would rather go ride their bike than try to watch. Hell if my only option to watch live was the NBC TV broadcast, I'd probably go ride my bike too.


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## SNS1938 (Aug 9, 2013)

amicus said:


> Anyone had any experience in using this platform to view cycling events?


I had NBC Gold last year. I cannot stand Phil
And Paul. The only announcer I like is Kelly on Eurosport. The others get so many things wrong. "Oh he's cracked...." when infact he's just going back to the car to get bottles. They try to make everything soooo exciting. Kelly though, is just so calm, collected and aware. 

I have little time this July to watch too much cycling, so I let NBC go, and will probably do VPN and a Eurosport package next year. I was annoyed at no NBC Giro this year. 

As an aside, RedBullTV app has FREE UCI World Cup mountain biking. The women's XC has been brilliant the last few years. It is great to watch when on the rollers.


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## troutmd (Sep 7, 2007)

Marc said:


> Today you saw more people roadside in the town of Dusseldorf than you ever see roadside all week long at Tour of California


You and PT Barum are right --- if your don't advertise the circus is coming to town, ticket sales under-perform.

And KK is also right --- _If the NHL can't get fans cycling is never going to be anything more than a niche sport.
_
On second thought, maybe it is best if The Kardasians don't take up cycling or the cycling industry doesn't have a long term investment-growth strategy, less we'd have traffic jams in bike lanes.


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

I used "expressvpn," and was happy enough. I paid somewhere around $13, and could watch all TdF live, via a French connection found by cyclingfans.com, but there obviously is no replay or taped or delayed broadcast as part of that.

I would do it again unless NBC access goes back down to $29.

Discontinuing my monthly subscription was easy with expressvpn.

A down side was all web surfing was much slower while running my internet connection through France - it was not easy to simply look up current standings, a rider, local weather, etc., on a whim.


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

Yes I pulled this one up from last year. Have a question. We really need to upgrade our DVR, but need to find 2016 and 2017 Fleche Wallone and 2017 Liege as I'll lose those when we upgrade. My question about NBC Gold is, how long do they keep races up to watch AND can you download/record them for future watching?


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

KoroninK said:


> Yes I pulled this one up from last year. Have a question. We really need to upgrade our DVR, but need to find 2016 and 2017 Fleche Wallone and 2017 Liege as I'll lose those when we upgrade. My question about NBC Gold is, how long do they keep races up to watch AND can you download/record them for future watching?


"Typically, subscribers will have access to all current season video replays until the end of the current subscription period. However, Premier League replays are available only for a week after the original air date. Once the subscription renews, subscribers will not be able to see previous season’s replays. Currently, Blazers Pass does not offer on-demand content."

https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/faq


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