British Cycling says it is reviewing its plans to charge fans £2.99 a month to watch domestic races on YouTube, following last month’s pilot broadcast of the national cyclocross championships in South Shields, the coverage of which received a decidedly mixed response from viewers.
The governing body has also cancelled the subscriptions of fans who signed up for the cyclocross coverage, to avoid charging them for a second, race-less month, with an update on plans for the rest of the year expected to be made soon.
Last month, British Cycling announced that it was trialling a £2.99 subscription for fans to watch the Lloyds National Cyclocross Championships on YouTube, the paywall forming part of the governing body’s “dynamic new approach to domestic sports coverage, to reach and inspire new fans and deepen engagement with existing audiences”.
As with other selected road races throughout the year, previous editions of Britain’s national cyclocross championships were streamed for free on YouTube (with the exception of the 2025 edition, which was limited to text updates and social media videos).
But this year, for the first time British Cycling’s new pilot broadcast was made available via what it branded “a modest subscription fee”.
The governing body said that fans will have “flexibility to cancel at any time” and framed the fee as offering the best domestic cyclocross action for “less than the average price of a coffee”. The move came following criticism of last year’s event, when the race was unavailable on YouTube and hundreds instead followed the action via a teenager’s course-side livestream.
All elite, U23, and junior races on Sunday 11 January were included in the £2.99 membership and available to watch on British Cycling’s YouTube channel, with the broadcast provided by Monument Cycling.
Amy Gardner, Sport and Participation Director at British Cycling, said at the time: “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.”
However, British Cycling’s decision to introduce yet another paywall for fans in the UK (a year on from cycling’s move to TNT Sports’ premium £30.99-a-month subscription), as well as the quality of the coverage itself, was met with a mixed reception from viewers on social media.
During the men’s race in South Shields, won by Cameron Mason, who secured his fourth consecutive British cyclocross title, some fans complained that they couldn’t follow the action, thanks to what one viewer deemed to be British Cycling’s “two tins and a piece of string approach”.
“What’s happened to the men’s live broadcast as we can’t see the riders?” Ian Ramsbottom asked on X. “I may as well be listening in the radio. Great commentary but wrong cameras being shown? Have you gone down to one camera?”
“You’ve got some cheek asking members for additional money to watch this amateurish production,” added Dave. “The commentators seem to be seeing what’s going on but we’re mostly watching empty fields. Abysmal, think I’ll just watch the Belgian champs (for free).”
However, not everyone was as disgruntled with the £2.99 coverage, off-road race organiser Matt Page describing the pilot broadcast as “OK” and “a good step to begin with”.
“I can imagine the weather conditions didn’t help and probably caused issues with the wireless signalling for the cameras,” Page told road.cc.
“I know how much that style of setup would have cost to hire and manage. It’s not a simple setup, and without having a major outside broadcaster like the BBC onboard, the level of tech needed is always going to make it run at a loss, even with lots of people paying to subscribe.
“The difference between Belgium and here is that over there it’s practically a national sport, so they will have the setup to make it fully professional. While it could be improved, for a first-time live streaming broadcast, I thought it was fine. It has to start somewhere.”
And this week, British Cycling announced that it is reviewing this first attempt at subscription-based race coverage, telling those who coughed up £2.99 last month that their subscriptions have been turned off while the review is ongoing.
“Thank you to our channel members for supporting the sport and making coverage of the 2026 Lloyds National Cyclo-cross Championships possible,” the governing body said.
“We have turned off channel memberships to avoid anyone being charged for a second month. We’re reviewing the pilot and will be communicating our cycle coverage plans for the rest of the year soon!”
That message was also met with criticism from those who subscribed to watch the cyclocross championships, with one viewer arguing that, instead of “deepening engagement” as hoped, putting races behind a paywall were harming the “accessibility” of cycling.
“Thank you for charging for the most mediocre and disappointing coverage of any national championship,” 12joeg7665 wrote.
“Mostly shots of an empty field. Big L from BC for this reduction in accessibility at a time when the British scene is already in enough trouble. Please look at what Belgium and Netherlands do before putting coverage behind a paywall.”
Meanwhile, another commenter urged the governing body to drop the additional paywall and instead make access to the channel’s race coverage part of their annual British Cycling membership.
“Just make it so anyone can see the livestream because most people already pay you for a licence,” they wrote.
4 thoughts on “British Cycling “reviewing” £2.99 YouTube subscription after controversial trial at cyclocross national championships, with all memberships cancelled until plans confirmed”
Good job it wasn’t accessed via the New Membership Portal; what a mother and father of an f up that is……
Having spend the whole week trying to contact them to get my license updated with new team details and having to part with over £130 for the year. I won’t be paying them anymore money. They have already scammed those of us who work with UCI teams by increasing our costs year on year for no changes at their end, it’s just a tick box. They don’t even have to do extra work….
The BC website has the UX of an aging Ford escort. Needs someone at the helm with vision for the future
If Cameron Mason wins the 2026 British cyclocross championships, South Shields falls in a forest and no one is there to watch it does it make a sound?