Dramatisch nieuws uit de wielerwereld op woensdag. Zo maakte het populaire wielerplatform GCN immers bekend dat het eind van dit jaar ophoudt te bestaan. En dat is een flinke mokerslag voor tal van wielerfans.
“De reden dat deze apps verdwijnen is niet dat de twee platformen niet werkten of slecht scoorden”, klonk het bij GCN in een statement. “De realiteit is dat het medialandschap veranderd is en daarom worden de streamingdiensten van WBD samengevoegd om alle inhoud op een plaats aan te bieden.”
Hoe het allemaal exact zal uitdraaien zal nog moeten blijken, feit is alvast dat wielerfans overal ter wereld gedupeerd achterblijven. De reacties hieromtrent op het sociale platform X zijn dan ook niet bij te houden.
No words for how rubbish this news is, and how negatively this will affect the enjoyment of so many cycling fans around the world. Most of all just gutted for you and the whole team @daniellloyd1. GCN has been a constant companion for the past couple of years.
— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) November 15, 2023
It's a miracle cycling fans still exist. The sport makes it extremely difficult for people to be there. Hope no one losses their job with the shutdown of GCN.
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) November 15, 2023
Thanks for the beautiful GCN+ years, @gcntweet. 🙏🥺 pic.twitter.com/CKvAJCvrxk
— Domestique (@Domestique___) November 15, 2023
"What was GCN+ like?"pic.twitter.com/XjJTLOr2kE
— #SiempreGino (@NairoInGreen) November 15, 2023
It's the news we never wanted to announce, but today we're announcing the closure of GCN+ and the GCN app.
— GlobalCyclingNetwork (@gcntweet) November 15, 2023
Our huge thanks to everyone who subscribed, commented and contributed to making it such a great product.https://t.co/pcvn0JxzaM
I’m not exactly impartial, but GCN+ was the best thing to ever happen to cycling fans. What an incredible service
— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) November 15, 2023
It’s shite news for fans. I’m gutted to see it go, and I’m devastated for all of the people who worked on it
If you have questions I’ll try my best to answer them pic.twitter.com/lApF3I9GVx
Thanks so much for all the kind messages today about the demise of GCN+. and the GCN app. You never know how much something is appreciated until it's gone - it's been heartwarming to read through them.
— Daniel Lloyd (@daniellloyd1) November 15, 2023
I'm devastated, obviously. Primarily for the incredibly hard working,… pic.twitter.com/dHYwqFoGsA
GCN is quite certainly the best bike racing content platform of all time. Always good to remember that 90+ percent of all media consolidation sucks for consumers.
— Peter Flax (@Pflax1) November 15, 2023
Okay, I wasn’t ready to get the news of #GCN+ shutting down 😩 Such an incredible product and game changer for cycling fans around the world. Thank you @GcnRacing for these past years.
— Martina Centomo (@martinacentomo) November 15, 2023
GCN+ closing is bad news for cycling fans everywhere. Particularly for @UCI_MTB fans who have gone from free access to all world cup races in 2022 via @redbullbike to £39 per year via @GcnRacing in 2023 and then a whopping £83 per year in 2024 via @discoveryplus 😭😭😭 #gcnplus pic.twitter.com/sxHbVSFQzW
— Kevin Purcell (@kevpurcell) November 15, 2023
the closure of GCN+ might be annoying for us europeans, more importantly it's also basically closing off the sport to anyone not from our continent which will have a dramatic impact in it's popularity
— Kjell 🇧🇪 🏳️🌈 (@FerrexCS) November 15, 2023
what's the point of a netflix docu for the US if nobody can watch the sport??
Woah, GCN+ is ending?!? Literally the one trustworthy and reasonably priced thing in professional cycling…gone. pic.twitter.com/lc8Cts7ZPu
— Ray Maker (@dcrainmakerblog) November 15, 2023
Hands down the best job and team I've ever worked with. We're all absolutely devastated by the news, thanks for all the positive comments & posts, it's really appreciated. ❤️ #gcn @gcntweet @GcnRacing https://t.co/o8L0Eefyoy
— Jim Dwyer (@HerrDwyer) November 15, 2023
This makes me so sad. I would pay double my subscription fee to keep GCN+ going. It has been such a game changer for cycling and cycling fans. https://t.co/j0jnZK4cYw
— Sadhbh O'Shea (@SadhbhOS) November 15, 2023
Discovery+ is double the price of GCN+, is available in less countries than GCN+, and in some countries, you have to pay extra to not see ads.
— Benji Naesen (@BenjiNaesen) November 15, 2023
Nice. 😭