Perhaps a bit annoying, but I support any company who's helping bring the sport of cycling to my TV screen. I just may go out and buy a new grill. :)

Ads, what ads?
Oh how I love my Tivo (and the 30sec skip hack). I do watch the first few seconds so I can catch the bob spots and sometimes I forget to skip the ads (online or something) but most are over in a second.
I know, ads pay for the show, but if i'm not going to buy what they are advertising (can't have a grill in my apt) then what difference does it make. Plus I see enough advertising on the riders backs.

A

Two words: DirecTV and Tivo.

I don't watch ads anymore (mostly). And I don't watch shows when they're broadcast, either. And I don't have to worry about missing a stage of TDF because I forgot to set the VCR or change the tape or I got stuck on the subway or whatever. Tivo records it for me, automagically. It also records every show with the word "Triathlon" in the description.

Everybody should have Tivo. We spend an awful lot of time in this forum debating about the most recent advances in bike technology, handlebars, powercranks, disc wheels, aero whatever, etc. Well, TV without Tivo is like riding a roadbike with toe straps and downtube shifters. Obsolete technology that has been replaced by something far better.

The $300 you spend on Tivo will buy you more free time and more flexible time for training, which will result in more improvement than almost any $300 piece of gear I can think of. Triathletes spend their lives trying to balance work, family, training, and racing. Why let some network exec's idea of scheduling affect the balance you work so hard to achieve?

Ok, enough ranting. I love my Tivo, though -- I'm never going back.

Lee