Tour de France broadcaster dropped f-bomb

Over the years, there have been plenty of cases of profane broadcaster comments picked up on unknowingly-hot mics. There have also been several cases of fans trying to invade spaces set aside for commentators. And those things came together on the Peacock broadcast of the 16th stage of the Tour de France Tuesday, where broadcaster Bob Roll dropped quite the line on a fan who tried to invade the commentators’ space.

The “What the h— do you think you’re doing? What the f—?” from Roll there is certainly an unusual choice to say on the air. But, as with many of these hot-mic incidents, he doesn’t seem to have been aware that his comments were in fact being broadcast. And it is understandable why Roll would be upset about the fan’s behavior here. It’s also worth noting that Roll offered an on-air apology shortly after this (at the 1:14 mark):

“Apologies for the recent language, there was an overzealous spectator trying to get into the commentators’ section a minute ago. I had to wave them off with some emphatic language. I apologize profusely.”

As always, it’s worth remembering that the cursing here is far from a Federal Communications Commission issue. Expletives sometimes get complaints on broadcast networks, and (on a much smaller scale) on cable networks.

But the FCC’s own guidelines note that “Because obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment, it is prohibited on cable, satellite and broadcast TV and radio. However, the same rules for indecency and profanity do not apply to cable, satellite TV and satellite radio because they are subscription services.” And streaming expletives in particular are not an area the FCC has often weighed in on.

Despite that, though, most streaming broadcasters don’t want their commentators offering expletives. And that’s part of why Roll (a famed cyclist who’s been working as a NBC cycling analyst since 2012 ) offered the on-air apology here. And this isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it is interesting to see that on-air expletive and subsequent apology.

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