Commercial Cycling

Let’s get one thing straight before I go any further into this Post (read: rant) and that is SBS is the home of cycling, but it seems that it is becoming the spiritual home more than ever.

I hate to say this but the popularity of cycling (ahem thanks Cadel, GreenEdge) has meant that more people are watching, which is fantastic, but now the commercial channels want a piece of this cake.

I mean, I can’t blame them, but really, can they pull it off?

For the next three years the Santos Tour Down Under will be shown on Channel Nine.

And in the final weekend of the race, it will be live. The rest will be “dedicated” highlights.

But somehow I get the sense that these highlights will be late into the night and while this is good practice for Le Tour in July, I live in this country and yet I have watch cycling as if I am in a different time-zone.

Fair? I think not?

And what about the commentating, who will nine have with charm of Liggett, Sherwen, Keenan, Tomalaris, Sutherland or McKenzie?

I just don’t think that Channel Nine can give the cycling enough to whet the appetite and then fill it up for its hardcore and casual fans, especially considering the fact that nest year is going to be a MASSIVE year at the Tour Down Under as you have already read about in the older posts.

Readers, what do you think? Can Nine lift their game and make the cycling get the attention it deserves?

Let’s hope so.