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Kicking the C4 scapegoat is easy
To be fair, there is so much to kick, it’s actually difficult to avoid.
Last Friday, I had a non-racing friend over and I alternated between the Channel 4 coverage and the RUK coverage and he couldn’t believe the level of actual horse-centric discussion contrasted against the endless interviews of non-entity celebs, hat parades and adverts. If the world cup coverage is formatted the same way as Channel 4 racing (terrestrial or otherwise), there would be riots.
Next week will be a wonderful opportunity for racing to showcase itself as it will enjoy five days of terrestrial coverage which includes some of flat racing’s most important races being shown.
It even has an article on digitalspy…
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a57 … -team.html
Unfortunately, not even the word "horse" appears in the above article, let alone any mention of any particular horse.
Terrestrial coverage of the sport is already at the gallows. All one can do now is either watch or look away.
Heads will roll for sure.Figures like that tell one thing and one thing only…….None of us want to see Emma Spencers VPL!
Whoever dressed her in that Lil Red Number needs to go to Specsavers,A Red Aerosol spray can would have done much the same job.I agree there are issues about the Derby in general – how do you make a race interesting to a wider audience when it’s contested by horses that have hardly ever raced, competing on a non-handicap basis so some of the runners have a much better chance than others, and the winners are owned and trained by people that have little connection with the public?
However, a good TV team would get the best out of it, and every week the Ch4 team show they don’t have the flair for it
Look at the way other TV shows are put together and you will see what it’s lacking – controversy, humour, banter, eccentricity, unpredictability
Because of that, it has NO chance whatsoever of doing what the BHA and Racing For Change would have hoped, ie the last 18 months have been a disaster
The things that channel 4 are missing is the people they got rid of.mcririck,thommo and john francome.The programme is frankly embarassing and it wouldnt surprise me if it went back to the bbc.
If C4 did a road to the Derby and actually covered all the prep races live they might just make an interesting narrative and people might then connect with the horse and the jockey, at the moment you have horses running in the Derby that have never been seen on terrestrial TV so how can people care what they do or have an opinion on their form against others in the race ?
At least with Cheltenham most of the contenders are known to the majority and their races have been seen and it’s easy to form an allegiance with them or go against them.
I guess if the Cheltenham festival was held during the first week of October and the best races came months after it then NH racing may have a similar problem.
The things that channel 4 are missing is the people they got rid of.mcririck,thommo and john francome.The programme is frankly embarassing and it wouldnt surprise me if it went back to the bbc.
With the BBC cut-backs it will never happen on a weekly basis.
Channel 4 took the carrot from "Dubai" and if that sponsorship stopped then, it would be repeats of "The Big Bang Theory" or similar on a Saturday afternoon. (Less hassle and more viewers with better advertising revenue being returned.)
I was watching some old newsreel footage on the Derby on the Pathe site. No TV then terrestrial or otherwise. There were some small vignettes about the main contenders from the big stables, all very hearty and British then adverts for the race "To be shown in this theatre" Just the Derby and racing don’t have the significance it did in the 1950s. I never saw an advert on TV or any build up at all there and nothing much in the newspapers.
Yesterday, someone was organising a World Cup Sweep at work (I drew England by the way), There is never one for the Derby or the Grand National. In fact a colleague attempted to do one for the Grand National a few years ago and was shouted down for, you’ve guessed, "supporting animal abuse".MAtron …YOU are indeed bang on the money , this will happen eventually , where then for Bittar and his hapless crew….maybe non stop showing of bookie adverts on the BHA website
to appease his masters 
Talk about headless chickens !!!
imo
Dettori now joining C4 for Royal Ascot and beyond
arrrgghhh… yet another reason not to watch C4
It gets better:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/gok … -coverage/
Gok Wan will be doing the fashion stuff.
It gets better:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/gok … -coverage/
Gok Wan will be doing the fashion stuff.
Kicking the C4 scapegoat is easy
To be fair, there is so much to kick, it’s actually difficult to avoid.
Last Friday, I had a non-racing friend over and I alternated between the Channel 4 coverage and the RUK coverage and he couldn’t believe the level of actual horse-centric discussion contrasted against the endless interviews of non-entity celebs, hat parades and adverts. If the world cup coverage is formatted the same way as Channel 4 racing (terrestrial or otherwise), there would be riots.
Next week will be a wonderful opportunity for racing to showcase itself as it will enjoy five days of terrestrial coverage which includes some of flat racing’s most important races being shown.
It even has an article on digitalspy…
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a57 … -team.html
Unfortunately, not even the word "horse" appears in the above article, let alone any mention of any particular horse.
Terrestrial coverage of the sport is already at the gallows. All one can do now is either watch or look away.
‘My name is Bachelor’s Hall, forumite of forumites:
Look on my posts, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.Dettori now joining C4 for Royal Ascot and beyond
He won’t add anything to the programme and I doubt bring in thousands of viewers.
That is some payroll they have for the programme now.
Unfortunately, the more worrying question is what would happen if Dubai pull the plug? Which they will do eventually if things don’t pick up. Then there’ll be no racing on terristrial telly at all, because the Beeb won’t take it back and none of the other channels can afford it. That would make a BIG hole in RUK’s and the courses’ revenues.
It will be intersting what happens this week at Ascot.
Can they cock up the best flat meeting of the year?
I assume so sadlyThe big question is , …..does Mick Fitz..have the Lesley Graham effect ….one look or one word spoken … you change Channels
I think he the most irritating broadcaster currently on our screens …even worse than Chapman ….
The Bigger question is , how much will they balls up next weeks shows
..
Imo
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