With the FIS Ski World Cup just around the corner, ski fans are buzzing with excitement, eager to watch their favorites hit the slopes and chase the coveted crystal globe. And stealing the spotlight? None other than Mikaela Shiffrin. After a brutal crash in January that could’ve ended her season, she bounced back like the champion she is. Just two months later, she was back on the slopes, dominating once again.

With winter creeping in, Mikaela Shiffrin is gearing up to showcase her epic skills at the season opener, and fans can’t wait. The action kicks off on October 26 in Soelden, Austria, the home of the giant slalom. It’s shaping up to be a wild ride, and Mikaela is ready. Fans are all in—but here’s the twist: some major broadcasting news just dropped, and it’s shaking things up.

On October 16, the US Ski & Snowboard Team took to X to drop some broadcasting news, saying,

“Broadcast rights are not centralized, which means that every country has the right to sell their World Cup broadcast.” Not long after, Mikaela Shiffrin chimed in with her own post. She reposted the update and added her thoughts: “It may not be the most ideal situation, because broadcast rights for our sport are not yet centralized, but here are the details for how to watch this year’s @fisalpine World Cup.”

Fans weren’t too thrilled either, and they made their feelings known. One viewer commented,

“Yeah… Norwegian viewers can’t see anything this year.” Mikaela Shiffrin jumped in with a quick response: “Ugh.” But here’s the twist—Norwegian fans can actually catch all the action on Viaplay.

The catch? It requires a subscription, so they’ll have to sign up and pay atleast NOK 109/month to tune in. And t

his is just the beginning of the wave of disappointment, as plenty of others jumped into the comments section to voice their frustrations.

Fans slide into the comments over broadcast blues

With Mikaela Shiffrin gearing up to conquer the slopes, fans everywhere, including those in the UK, are buzzing with excitement to catch the action live! But here’s the scoop: to watch the FIS Ski World Cup, UK fans need to tune into the BBC, not Eurosport or Discovery+. One disappointed fan expressed their hopes, saying,“Really hoping that here in the UK, I’ll be able to watch you through Eurosport or Discovery + 🤞🤞🤞🤞xx”Meanwhile, another British viewer chimed in, “Presumably will again be on Eurosport for UK viewers like me 😀”

With all this broadcasting drama and the lack of centralization, fans can’t help but draw comparisons to cycling coverage. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Eurosport’s Premium subscription service would be shutting down just a day after the Tour de France wraps up. Subscribers were then directed to sign up for Discovery+ and HBO Max, but they’d have to shell out a whole lot more to catch live cycling. So, it’s no wonder fans are making the connection! One user candidly shared their thoughts, saying,

“That looks as bad as cycling coverage. 😬”

But wait, it doesn’t stop there! Another frustrated fan chimed in, saying, “It’s hard to find most events today cuz you have to buy the channel they come on which ends up being a lot of subscriptions so average families just don’t even bother anymore, TOO EXPENSIVE!” And honestly? No one can argue with that!

For viewers in the US, the options to catch the action include Ski and Snowboard Live, Outside Watch, and Peacock. However, the catch is the same: sign up, pay, and watch. It’s pretty pricey since no single channel covers every sport, so fans are left juggling multiple subscriptions just to keep up with their favorite events.