British Cycling is trialling a £2.99 subscription for fans to watch this weekend’s Lloyds National Cyclo-cross Championships on YouTube. With British cycling fans rolling their eyes at the prospect of another subscription to watch racing, the governing body has claimed the paywall is part of a “dynamic new approach to domestic sports coverage, to reach and inspire new fans and deepen engagement with existing audiences”.
Previous editions of Britain’s national cyclocross championships have been streamed for free on YouTube, as with other selected road races throughout the year, but British Cycling has announced a pilot for the broadcast to only be available “via a modest subscription fee”, namely £2.99 a month.
The governing body says fans will have “flexibility to cancel at any time” and frame the fee as offering the best domestic cyclocross action for “less than the average price of a coffee”. It follows on from criticism of last year’s event, when there was not a broadcast on YouTube and hundreds instead followed the action via a teenager’s course-side livestream as the only British Cycling coverage came in the form of live text updates and social media videos.
While many will baulk at the prospect of another subscription to watch cycling — the announcement coming a year after almost all professional cycling coverage for British fans moved behind TNT Sports’ premium £30.99-a-month subscription — British Cycling is confident the cyclocross coverage will be better than ever, thanks to the broadcast being provided by Monument Cycling, the subscription service offering coverage of the British domestic road racing scene for £5.99-a-month.
The British Cycling membership is separate to Monument Cycling’s own subscription, fans able to sign up on the governing body’s YouTube channel. All the elite, U23 and junior races on Sunday 11 January will be included in the £2.99 membership, fans able to cancel afterwards to avoid paying again next month.
In a press release communicating the development, British Cycling promised the coverage will be “dynamic” and is “part of a new approach to domestic sports coverage which is central to growing and supporting the sport”.
Amy Gardner, Sport and Participation Director at British Cycling, commented: “This forms part of our dynamic new approach to domestic sports coverage, to reach and inspire new fans and deepen engagement with existing audiences. Our coverage will get to the heart of the action at the Lloyds National Cyclo-cross Championships, bringing you the best racing from South Shields.
“It is always a prestigious event in the calendar as riders compete for the much sought after national jersey, a huge honour in anyone’s career, across all age groups. We are investing in the coverage to make top quality Championship racing accessible and engaging, so sign up today, so you don’t miss out.”
British Cycling also advised fans that signing up directly via the YouTube channel on a laptop or desktop computer guarantees the “best price” and subscriptions purchased through iPhone or iPad apps “may cost slightly more due to Apple’s pricing policies”.
“If you’re trying to increase participation, make it free to view”
British Cycling’s claim the subscription is part of a wider “dynamic new approach” to get more people into the sport has not gone down well online, the Instagram post announcing the news attracting several comments questioning the logic.
“If you’re trying to increase participation, make it free to view. You’ll only get die hards paying,” the most liked comment said. “I get there’s costs but that should be part of your marketing budget to increase participation.”
Others questioned why, as British Cycling members, the broadcast was not included in their membership.
“I agree [it] will be only hardcore that pay,” another commenter said. “If you want to get more people into sport make it free. Surely British Cycling took note of the TNT paywall comments last year and [the] amount of people not watching various cycle sports. Great that it’s being streamed and filmed and I hope more xc and downhill gets the same in 2026…”
As mentioned in the comments above, the subscription will feel like a kick in the teeth coming in the year after almost all coverage for British fans of professional cycling was moved from Eurosport’s £6.99 subscription to behind TNT Sports’ premium £30.99-a-month paywall.
Fan backlash continued throughout the 2025 season, the massive increase in monthly cost for essentially the same product, and plenty of advert breaks, unsurprisingly not a popular move.
10 thoughts on “British Cycling trials £2.99 subscription to watch cyclocross national championships on YouTube… and claims paywall part of “dynamic new approach” to “inspire new fans and deepen engagement””
If this is for a one-off
If this is for a one-off weekend then why is it a subscription? Maybe a discount for BC members might be a nice idea.
Cycling organisations really need to get a decent coverage system sorted out or the sponsors will leave and the sport will die. I’ve been watching pro cycling and CX for 30 years now. Last season I found I couldn’t be arsed. I tried TNT but coverage was awful, for a major stage race I seemed to have an option of full coverage or a 3 minute highlight reel. I’ve tried sailing the high seas but that was too much effort. Quality on VPNs to other countries was diabolical. I’d happily pay a reasonable amount but £32 is not that amount, especially as that money seems to go to premier league rather than cycling.
My reading is that it is now
My reading is that it is now a standard subscription of £2.99 per month to join British Cycling’s YouTube channel, which includes the National Cyclocross Championships along with various other races. There is no special option or rate if you are only interested in this one race.
Poor marketing by BC
Poor marketing by BC financial dept. For £3, ongoing.. a month people will expect ongoing coverage- a race every weekend.
Agree no problem to pay £2 to watch the champs and cover the expense of streaming and cameras
Moving to pay-per-view worked
I look forward to the BC membership perk of, er, paying exactly the same as everyone else to watch the channel.
You could drive there and pay
You could drive there and pay £5 for parking. No BC discount
AH wonderful, the “blazers”
AH wonderful, the “blazers” strike again. Given the alternative of doing a massive publicity push to get as many people watching as possible and restricting the viewers as much as possible they went for the latter… The former might have generated interest, and god forbid, new mambership / racing talent. Why do organizing bodies get so out of touch so quickly. I remember the days when Cookson came in and rescued the whole thing and made it thrive and grow. Hope they still have him on speed dial to put it all back together again
You think one livestream will
You think one livestream will generate more members and racing talent? LOL ???? This seems to have generated plenty of coverage already. Cookson was certainly something but not a saviour. What made it jump in popularity was the London Olympics, nothing else.
‘Inspiring new fans’… By
‘Inspiring new fans’… By making them pay for something? ?
It’s a bold strategy, Cotton – let’s see if it lays off…
I am frankly agog that my
I am frankly agog that my “premium” BC subscription does not cover this. Beyond the liabiluty insurance i need for my volunteering i’m.not dure there ate any benefits worth having. And then again that they make you sign up for s “subscription” service which covers i know not what other british races. So I’ll just watch the jerrky but well.meaning amateur footage i guess, or perhaps one of the other European cyclo cross championships which are probably more entertaining, certainly better covered and free to view on YouTube.
I was amazed that it was
I was amazed that it was included in my membership and to top it off somehow I manged to pay via my iphone and therefore paid £3.99!