TV coverage

It's maybe a measure of the direction the programme has been heading in that Edgt's suggestion appears not to have been considered.

Or maybe it has but they fear a bad spell of weather to knock out racing for a number of days would kill any interest in it and render it a waste of money.

It's one of those 'so simple it's brilliant' ideas.
 
edgt said:
Surely they could put the boat out on Dec 31 with a Morning Line to end all Morning Lines followed by a Greatest bits from 30 years in the afternoon between races.
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With a 10 minute special on the time when they held racing to ransom demanding payment before they showed any more racing.
 
I can see C4's point. Why would they want to go out on a downbeat note on a not very important day's racing?

Anyway, why should racing expect to get live free-to-air exposure 52 weeks of the year? No other sort does.

Maybe there should be a few more blank Saturdays from time to time. Some of the Saturday broadcasts are serving up pretty bread-and-butter fare.
 
I've just read Bruce Millington's article in today's RP:

http://www.racingpost.com/news/live.sd?event_id=18641824&category=0


Sadly, I have to agree with what he says. The ITV product will probably be a Grand National away from what I would want to see in a programme but the bottom line [for me] has to be that racing is not confined to non-terrestrial broadcasters.

It will probably mean my hating everything about the show bar the actual races - hopefully they will at least do a meaningful coverage of them - but if that is the price I have to pay for being able to see them, I suppose the phrase 'so be it' will apply.

The Andy Townsend situation is particularly worrying. The shallowness of the guy's co-commentating never ceases to amaze me yet he gets the gig every time. I imagine the bookies will warmly welcome any dumbing down of the programme so long as it gives them a publicity outlet.
 
Although i am strongly against RUKs business model and believe its excellent coverage should be free to air, I cannot understand why those that put far more time and money into this than i could (with we are told, great success), even bother with terrestrial and can't find twenty notes a month for the in depth coverage
 
Watching the athletics this evening made me rethink the racing coverage for the new programme.

The BBC don't dumb down the athletics coverage and I don't recall them dumbing down the major racing coverage when they had it so what is behind the ratings issue?

Michael Johnson is compulsive listening. FFS, if he can get Mrs O to do the couch-to-5k in nine weeks when I can't even get her to drive down the street for my Weekender, I'd wonder what would be racing's equivalent?

They don't skimp on analysis and they are excellent at immediately putting performances into context. Maybe doing so is easier in athletics but I wonder what ITV could do to give racing performances some context.

Or would the average/target viewer want that level of analysis? Would they just want Go Wank to come in his pants over what people are wearing?
 
Latest in and outs for ITV.....allegedly

In Hayley Turner, Sally Ann Grassick, Rishi Persad, Oli Bell

Out Tanya Stevenson, Tom Lee, Gina Harding
 
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Emma S will be thrilled to be shafted for the person who shafted her marriage! HT has an awful grating voice too despite her knowledge. Not over impressed by lineup so far to be honest.
 
I take it the muppets mentioned above will be replaced when the Jumps season commences? If so, any word on who will be presenting their jumps coverage?
 
Grasshopper said:
I take it the muppets mentioned above will be replaced when the Jumps season commences? If so, any word on who will be presenting their jumps coverage?
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I take it Ed Chamberlain will be the main man, big jumps fan and see him at Cheltenham for most meetings

PS Please not Mick Fitzgerald
 
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Predictable and depressing.

I thought programme makers were meant to be 'creative' people.

Most of them would be more suited to laying out caravan sites.
 
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