OLN's Opinion

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Cam the Ram
Does it bother anyone that OLN commentators favor Armstrong? I enjoy the coverage the network brings of the Tour, but I hate it when the commentators voice their own opinions about Armstrong. I think the members of OLN should just comment on all riders of the race in a fair manner. Maybe it's just me, but I get tired of people like Bob Roll talking about Armstrong this and Armstrong that... 🙁

It's not only OLN commentators that do this. Pick your sport, the commentators usually choose to focus on those that excel in their chosen job. Be it Barry Bonds this, Tiger Woods that, Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, etc, etc. That's what commentators get paid to do, voice their own opinion. Whose to decide what is a fair manner? Frankly, I think it would be boring as hell if they covered sporting events in a neutral fashion without focusing on those that do well, or on the flip side, those that are struggling. What was the main focus of the Giro? It was Petacchi this, and Petacchi that for one story line, and it was the tension/battle between Cunego and Simoni for the other story line. It was a very riveting drama that unfolded.

I guess it would be boring if the commentators had a neutral opinion, but maybe I am just tired of the Armstrong hype. Maybe I would stop complaining if OLN hired some die-hard Ullrich, Hamilton, or Mayo commentators.

It's just the nature of the beast. Look at it this way, if Ullrich should win the tour, you can sit there and yell at your TV, "See? See Bob Roll you freakin' moron! You were focusing on the wrong guy! You should have been talking about Jan! Idiot!" 🙂

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Cam the Ram
Does it bother anyone that OLN commentators favor Armstrong? I enjoy the coverage the network brings of the Tour, but I hate it when the commentators voice their own opinions about Armstrong. I think the members of OLN should just comment on all riders of the race in a fair manner. Maybe it's just me, but I get tired of people like Bob Roll talking about Armstrong this and Armstrong that... 🙁

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The OLN situation is simple. OLN is a sponsor of the USPS team! This makes their coverage almost an infomercial!!

It appears that OLN's cosponsorship will continue when Discovery takes over the primary sponsorship of what then will be the former USPS team. Lance was breathing a lot easier when he knew the word was out to his team that they won't have to be trying to make connections with other teams during the Tour in order to have a job the rest of the season and for the next few years. Otherwise they may have had doubts about how loyal they should be to USPS during the Tour.

Oh, well I didn't know OLN sponsors USPS! I guess that is the reason the network has to be for Armstrong. I guess I won't find a network that is for Ullrich or Hamilton unless I move to Europe. The Discovery Networks team doesn't sound as nice of a team as Armstrong used to have. It sounds as if Armstrong is moving to a AG2R or a similar team. USPS was a prestigious name to have as a sponsor.

During the coverage today, check out the USPS jersey. On the right chest area (above the Subaru logo), there's the OLN logo!! On the USPS website, they are listed as their television partner! Unfortunately, this is all we have to watch...I feel bad not enjoying it because Phil & Paul are THE voices of cycling. I just prefer their commentary during non-Lance races.

I think the fact that OLN sponsors USPS has little to do with the coverage they are giving Armstrong. Armstrong is the 5 time defending champion. You cover this guy. If Indurain were still riding in today's day and age and he was the 5 time defending champion, he would be garnering all the attention.

It's kind of like watching the coverage of one of the Majors on the PGA tour. You can a brilliant finish coming down to the final round on Sunday, and what do we see? Tiger Woods who is so far out of contention, who is playing so badly he couldn't hit his plate with his fork, that it is a joke for them to even be following his round. But, there's the camera and commentary as we watch him whacking from the deep grass. Why does this happen? Because before he went into his funk, he was Major winning machine. You cover this guy.

I disagree. I think paying a guy to wear your logo on your jersey DOES influence how much coverage you will give him. I bet you if they were sponsoring the T-Mobile team, that team would be getting quite a healthy amount of additional coverage. In fact, the commentators have made reference to their "special relationship" with USPS in the air already. It matters. Trust me = check out the bulk of OLN's cycling coverage nowadays: The Lance Chronicles, The Road to the Tour, The Five Victories Special. All Lance, all very USPS intensive. I understand they are a U.S. team with the "superstar" of cycling. However, for the diehard European cycling fan, it can get very very boring. Oh, if I had EUROSPORT!

By the way, who are the commentators? Paul Sherwen...did you know that Lance owns a piece of Sherwen's business in Africa? Bob Roll - before Bob went off to the Carolina hills to participate in Lance's rebirth, he was long gone from the mainstream cycling scene!

Lance is the "gravy train" for a lot of people. That's the bottom line. Hey, at least we are getting TV coverage. So, I can't complain too much. Back when ESPN had the Tour rights, we'd get a 1/2 hour show of which 20 minutes were commercials!!

Sorry, I was mainly reffering to the "in race" coverage that Cam the Ram had mentioned.

As far as the coverage/specials that you mentioned, (The Lance Cronicles, The Road to the Tour, etc, etc) I'm sure that their sponsorship definitely plays a part in that. Just as I'm sure next year we will probably see the same kind of specials on the Discovery channel.

An American company/network doing extra coverage on an American team. Big shock. I don't get Eurosport, but what does Eurosport cover? European teams/sports? Or do they give break downs on the upcoming NFL weekend as well? /shrug

Again, I agree it is completely normal for an American company to favor an American team. I just said that true race fans would appreciate a more complete, balanced coverage. By the way, yes, EUROSPORT covers European sports - which road cycling basically is...how's that NFL reference relevant at all?

Just pointing out that bemoaning an American network covering an American team would be me like complaining that Eurosport is giving short shrift in it's NFL coverage.

OLN will hopefully look a little stupid if Armstrong loses this year. The other teams in the Tour could probably gain money if they started complaining about the coverage in the US. Imagine how much more Ullrich could make in endorsements if he was a hero in the US. This is not going to happen if OLN keeps making Armstrong the messiah of cycling. I mean c'mon, "The Lance Chronicles"... what the hell...

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Cam the Ram
OLN will hopefully look a little stupid if Armstrong loses this year. The other teams in the Tour could probably gain money if they started complaining about the coverage in the US. Imagine how much more Ullrich could make in endorsements if he was a hero in the US. This is not going to happen if OLN keeps making Armstrong the messiah of cycling. I mean c'mon, "The Lance Chronicles"... what the hell...

Look, I wish OLN would pay a bit more attention to Ullrich, Heras, Mayo, the sprinters, all of it. But it's nonsense to think that an American network should do anything but hype Armstrong and his story. He is the guy to beat. He's turned thousands of Americans on to cycling. And this year's Tour is going to introduce thousands more to cycling. OLN wants to make money, and the single best way to do that is to do exactly what they're doing: hype Lance. And when you can't do that anymore, Hype Tyler. And if that get's old, hype Hincapie. Americans love Americans.

Jan Ullrich will never be a hero in the U.S. He's not American, and even though he's a stellar athelete, he's finished second five times, not first.

C'mon, it's a business and has been since the TDF started as a way to save a French newspaper. Now it's a French bank that leads the way.

For all its grand and glorious competition, it's all about making money for the sponsors, which means getting us to watch, listen and buy the products. This includes Lance, the marketing of lance and the selling of all-things lance.

It is a gravy train for those involved, Bob Roll and Chris Carmichael included, and they should all be free to make of it what they can.

Nothing better could show the the extent to which the "sponsors" will go to make this an entertaining 3 week event then the tweaking of the TTT. Without those changes, USPS would blow away everyone, the race would be over and we would all "tune-out."

In the end, OLN, Discovery and all the other "sponsors" have taken the risks and put up the money to produce this event and they should enjoy the financial rewards that come with it.

How come ESPN took off "Playmakers?" They didn't want to offend the NFL. It's not news reporting, it's marketing and merchandising.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by tcklyde
Look, I wish OLN would pay a bit more attention to Ullrich, Heras, Mayo, the sprinters, all of it. But it's nonsense to think that an American network should do anything but hype Armstrong and his story. He is the guy to beat. He's turned thousands of Americans on to cycling. And this year's Tour is going to introduce thousands more to cycling. OLN wants to make money, and the single best way to do that is to do exactly what they're doing: hype Lance. And when you can't do that anymore, Hype Tyler. And if that get's old, hype Hincapie. Americans love Americans.

Jan Ullrich will never be a hero in the U.S. He's not American, and even though he's a stellar athelete, he's finished second five times, not first.

You know what you are talking about!! Excellent.

People, why are some of you so anti-LA? He has won the TdF 5 times! Only a few others have done so, and now he is going for number 6.

Whether you want to admit it or not, OLN is a business and they need to make money, so if you can't handle all the 'Lance glorification' don't watch it. Lance is an incredible cyclist and deserves the hype he is getting.

[QUOTE] Cam the Ram
[B] OLN will hopefully look a little stupid if Armstrong loses this year. The other teams in the Tour could probably gain money if they started complaining about the coverage in the US. Imagine how much more Ullrich could make in endorsements if he was a hero in the US. This is not going to happen if OLN keeps making Armstrong the messiah of cycling. I mean c'mon, "The Lance Chronicles"... what the hell...[/QUOTE]

What? Sorry, but Americans would not root for a foreigner as much as they would root for an American. Why would OLN glorify a 5 time second place finisher? The person who wins gets the spot light. May not be fair, but sometimes that is how it turns out.


Everyone, most of you need to get over your 'anti-LA' stage. LA has done amazing things for cycling in AMERICA, it wouldn't be as big if he hadn't won 5 times already. So get over all this 'overexposure' and focus on the race. Go log onto European sites if you want to hear about other cyclists.

I chuckle as I read your post here, Trekdedicated, because it makes me think about what Bob Roll said in commentary on this year's Tour. He said that cycling is WAY bigger in Europe than it is here, and that is pretty evident by just watching the different Tours and noting that we don't have many here. But what he said is that the little kid fans often ask the American riders what their win record is and then they ask how much they are getting paid. He says they always laugh like it's a big hysterical joke when they compare the win record with what the Americans are getting paid. Bob didn't say whether this pay scale was either high or low compared to European riders, but it's pretty easy to fill in the blanks.

Here's another interesting blank to fill in. I wonder if perhaps the oftentimes second place rider in the Tour is making nearly as much money getting second as he would have if he had many times gotten first simply because of all the rainmaking the number 1 man has brought to the sport including him. I suspect that he may be making more, not less.

There is no "anti-Lance" stage going on! Some people just don't like the guy, and that includes me. I am an American but there is a difference between an athlete with talent and an arrogant athlete. You think what Cheney said in the Senate was bad, listen to some of Armstrong's comments. I know plenty of Americans supporting Ullrich, so I think it would be possible for Ullrich to make a little cash in this country.

It's an american thing. As others have pointed out, there's a lot of money involved and so it is only natural to focus on the US team and the US favourite.

Rest assured that, while networks in other nations are indeed awed by USPS and Armstrong, there is plenty of coverage of other riders. And it is balanced toward their own teams.

But in the end, I can understand how it might be frustrating to not get any other news.