Tour de France on TV

[JJF]

Can anyone tell me on which Freeview channel my friend in
east Midlands will find the Tour de France.
Thanks.

[thirdcrank]

It's on Freeview on ITV 4 which around here (Leeds) is ch 24. They should be warned that the adverts seem to take up nearly as much of the programme time as the cycling.

[hemo]

Yes CH 24 and highlights at 7pm also.
The adds are annoying and like today we missed seeing Cav falling back to change bike, though there was a recap.

[thirdcrank]

Presumably, daytime tv advertising is dirt cheap, but I wonder what benefit firms think there is in foisting their message on people screaming at the screen in frustration.

[rjb]

ITV 4 has been moved to Freeview channel 25 in our region. West.

[pwa]

It's on Freeview on ITV 4 which around here (Leeds) is ch 24. They should be warned that the adverts seem to take up nearly as much of the programme time as the cycling.

Also with Welsh commentary on S4C. I watch on ITV4 until the ads, then flick to S4C where the ads are less frequent and often timed differently, and back to ITV4 hopefully avoiding the prize draw thing. If I get it just right I see almost no ads and lots of cycling.

[simonhill]

No such thing as a free lunch. You get virtually full coverage but 'pay' with the ads. Not too bad a bargain, but I do wonder sometimes about the ads. Quite a few age orientated eg funeral, death insurance and equity release, plus animal ones. Is that the TdFs audience?

On my main TV set up I can use pause. Just pause the box for a while then you can skip through the ads.

[thirdcrank]

No such thing as a free lunch. You get virtually full coverage but 'pay' with the ads. Not too bad a bargain, but I do wonder sometimes about the ads. Quite a few age orientated eg funeral, death insurance and equity release, plus animal ones. Is that the TdFs audience?

On my main TV set up I can use pause. Just pause the box for a while then you can skip through the ads.

I do get the concept of the ads paying for the transmission. While there's no obvious place to to fit an ad break - when on BBC the commentators are waffling to fill the time - a bit more effort might usefully go into avoiding interesting bits: eg the other day when an attack was launched seconds before the ads started. No doubt most of this is automated to keep costs down. We've an HDD recorder so I sometimes record a programme then skip through the ads.

I don't think most of the ads are targeted on the programme or its audience: there are ads for direct cremations, whole-of-life insurance, charities on every commercial channel, especially in daytime. The BBC has adverts for the BBC.

[Jdsk]

Quite a few age orientated eg funeral, death insurance and equity release, plus animal ones. Is that the TdFs audience?

Does the mix of advertisements vary between the daytime and the evening broadcasts?

Jonathan

[thirdcrank]

Quite a few age orientated eg funeral, death insurance and equity release, plus animal ones. Is that the TdFs audience?

Does the mix of advertisements vary between the daytime and the evening broadcasts?

Jonathan

The effort I devote to avoiding the ads makes that comparison impossible. :lol:

[Jdsk]

: - )

Jonathan

[rjb]

Adverts, product placement is creeping in, if it's not the dogs trust, donkey sanctuary, WWF, it's the Lama's being taken out to enjoy the circus.
I wasn't sure what I was watching a couple of days ago.
Whatever next monkeys! Can you ride tandem.

[thirdcrank]

Something that they might do better on ITV 4 is sharing the race info which isn't being picked up by the cameras. eg I've just watched a complete section between ad breaks and no mention of what's happening "off the back." The info is there on the TdeF live website - which is where I've got it from.

[TrevA]

I can confirm in the East Midlands, ITV4 is on Channel 25.

If you want to watch the Tour without advert breaks, then you can subscribe to Eurosport Player, which has continuous, uninterrupted coverage - cost is around £7 per month. However, the downside is that you have to listen to the commentary of Carlton Kirby and Rrrrrooobbbb Hhhhaaatttccchhhh.

I was watching ITV4 the other day and they went for an advert break at the bottom of the KOM climb, so you missed all the attacks and action, and they only went back to the action after the climb had finished.

[rmurphy195]

I just watch the highlights - or rather a recording of them, skpping the ads which usually take up about 40% of the program.