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Most of ITV’s coverage has been ok. Wish they’d concentrate more on the horses, but this is Royal Ascot.
Worst criticism is every presenter telling other presenters and pals what a great job they’re doing.Value Is EverythingAlways seems a shame to me that RUK has to show races from away meetings during big meetings,also shouldn’t Oli Bell be banned from Ascot after running onto the course yesterday?
So everything else should stop for Ascot
great we all should sit for 30-35 minutes between Ascot races watching the boring Racing UK presenters drone on because you don’t want to see other meetings.The racecourses are equal partners in Racing UK and ATR and should expect their product to be shown.
…So all the racecourses are happy their product is shown on TV, even if nobody watches RUK because of it. I’d have hoped they’d make an exception for the greater good.
I’d much rather watch RUK than ITV, but not when it’s showing all these away meetings. Doesn’t do justice to Royal Ascot.
Value Is EverythingHaving sat through all five days I have to say ITV made a pretty good job of the coverage.
Bearing in mind the competing audiences – die-hard racing fans, fashionistas and newbies they did the best they could to cater for the three differing audiences.
Some of the “behind the scenes” stuff was very good and some of Luke’s reports from the start were very interesting.
Ed Chamberlin is growing on me. OK I think all the experts made some mistakes over the week but bearing in mind the number of horses it is forgivable – it show’s they’re human. Would rather have a fallible human than a boring robot.
Even Matt Chapman was good (most of the time – he got a bit silly a few times).
For me it was a good balance – so well done to the ITV team – you’ve now set the standard for the rest of the year.
STEVEH31… it’s hardly satisfactory to have the coverage of a big race impinged by having to show a egg & spoon race from some gaff track.
Perhaps the answer is to have the away meetings only at ATR courses on big days…something that would suit both channelsPerhaps the answer is to have the away meetings only at ATR courses on big days…something that would suit both channels
I doubt anyone at Racecourse Media Group would agree!
In any case, ATR can’t even cover their own tracks properly. Perth, Kelso, Exeter, Ascot, Leicester, Stratford & Taunton have all moved to RUK – no coincidence there.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
I too sat through most of the five days – with the mute button pressed for the fashion, for the over the top and over-long coverage of the Royal Procession (which even the Beeb, with Royal Correspondent Jennie Bond, did not devote so much attention to), for the much repeated wire camera shot with waves from the podium, for the interviews with famous chefs and for the multiple 5 seconds of OB with random racegoers (with money to access Car Park 1 etc). Comparing this to the BBC and C4 incarnations, I thought it was ‘fresher’ and ‘lighter’ and an altogether more fun package for the casual viewer. Whether this will have encouraged more people to go racing is another question. Would looking at lots of images of ‘toffs’ spending oodles of money on posh frocks and hats (‘POA’ on one of them today, alongside dresses @ £1-2k and hats at more than that) encourage ordinary folk to go to Royal Ascot? Perhaps, but it could just as easily say to others that ‘this isn’t for the likes of us’, or ‘it’s too expensive to do this rather than go to something else that doesn’t require outlays on clothes etc’. More coverage of the experience in other parts of the racecourse is definitely needed to counter this. As to the real action – on the plus side we did get to see the entire card on a terrestrial channel . That was a real bonus. My impression was that we are seeing slightly more of ‘horse’ in the paddock (still not enough, but it was better than peering through presenters talking about races past to try to catch a glimpse!). So, perhaps all the comments on here are getting through! The passion and enthusiasm of stable staff was communicated brilliantly. That is a huge improvement on previous broadcasters. And there was much more of a sense of a team focused on presenting, rather than careering off into in-banter between jockeys. There are still things that annoy me and/or that grate – ‘interviews’ that add nothing, the lack of connect between image and talk in relation to horses down at the start, inconsistency in the graphics (e.g. where horses wearing blinkers, cheek pieces etc have that displayed and not their form figures). Overall though, I’d say that this has been the best yet from ITV, and certainly way better than the Derby coverage.
Anyone else notice how much Brough Scott spits when he talks. He’d run Daffy Duck to a close second.
Perhaps the answer is to have the away meetings only at ATR courses on big days…something that would suit both channels
I doubt anyone at Racecourse Media Group would agree!
In any case, ATR can’t even cover their own tracks properly. Perth, Kelso, Exeter, Ascot, Leicester, Stratford & Taunton have all moved to RUK – no coincidence there.
Perhaps the answer is to have the away meetings only at ATR courses on big days…something that would suit both channels
I doubt anyone at Racecourse Media Group would agree!
In any case, ATR can’t even cover their own tracks properly. Perth, Kelso, Exeter, Ascot, Leicester, Stratford & Taunton have all moved to RUK – no coincidence there.
STEVEH31… it’s hardly satisfactory to have the coverage of a big race impinged by having to show a egg & spoon race from some gaff track.
Perhaps the answer is to have the away meetings only at ATR courses on big days…something that would suit both channelsThe dumbest comment anyone has ever made on here, the two channels are territorial they won’t even allow clips to be used by each other let alone allow racecourses to be given away for the day.
The racecourses have a right for the channel they chose to be with to show their courses and not everyone wants to just see Ascot if we did then there is itv.
The racecourses are signed up to watertight agreements see the Racing UK vs Doncaster dispute from a decade ago.
@Titus Oates
Titus have also sat through most of those 5 days apart from today when I was at Newmarket and I’m now looking forward to watching my recordings and fast forwarding through all the adverts, fashion talk, pointless celebrity interviews and presenters drinking cocktails and eating afternoon tea..just concentrating on the horses.
So that’s approximately 5 days of television condensed into around 5 hours of what I really wanted to watch, if only they could have a red button for the fashion chat and Z list celebs and hangers on and let the rest of us enjoy seeing the reason why Queen Anne created Ascot in the first place…it certainly wasn’t to pursue her love of fashion.
JacThings turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...Perhaps the answer is to have the away meetings only at ATR courses on big days…something that would suit both channels
I doubt anyone at Racecourse Media Group would agree!
In any case, ATR can’t even cover their own tracks properly. Perth, Kelso, Exeter, Ascot, Leicester, Stratford & Taunton have all moved to RUK – no coincidence there.
I doubt it had anything to do with the moves but I wonder what is your definition of covered properly?
Perhaps the answer is to have the away meetings only at ATR courses on big days…something that would suit both channels
I doubt anyone at Racecourse Media Group would agree!
In any case, ATR can’t even cover their own tracks properly. Perth, Kelso, Exeter, Ascot, Leicester, Stratford & Taunton have all moved to RUK – no coincidence there.
Perth & Kelso swapped channels because they wanted to be with the same channel as the other Scottish tracks.
Ascot changed because it was the only track not on RUK in the QIPCO competition (apart from Doncaster)
Exeter was bought by Jockey Club so moved over for obvious reasons.
Leicester & Stratford moved because they wanted to stay with SIS out of loyalty.So none of the racecourses changed channels because they disliked the way ATR broadcast them they moved for specific reasons.
They should have a red button, to watch fashion, some boring chef explaining how to boil an egg, and also for dumb presenters patting each other on the back. And the main screen for the racehorse.
RUK are, of course, contracted to show every race live from all ‘their’ courses. It is a nuisance that there is a Huntingdon meeting on the Wednesday of the Cheltenham festival, however, RUK give the absolute minimum coverage to it. I presume they would treat a minor Flat meeting during any big Jumps festival similarly.
In the main the fixture list is rather cutely designed to minimise other meetings on the channel during festivals and that was the case during the early part of Royal Ascot. There is also the option of evening meetings on the days of Flat festivals and that option was employed.
Even so, come a summer Friday and Saturday and we find a couple of other afternoon meetings each day on RUK. Racecourses cannot be blamed for scheduling said meetings on days likely to produce a good crowd. I don’t know how much time RUK spent on them, and I understand some viewers’ annoyance (but there is ITV!), however, I doubt they dallied long at Market Rasen on Friday.
I get this but, looking at it from the other perspective, it didn’t encourage me to tune in for Rasen for five minutes every half an hour whilst reading a book in between! Perhaps part of the problem is that there are just too many Flat meetings in general so its harder for Flat festivals to enjoy exclusive, uninterrupted air time.
I don’t care for the fashion stuff any more than the rest of you, but it’s always been that way on television, so I fear we’re stuck with it.
That aside, the coverage has been excellent, with plenty of zest and enthusiam, unlike C4 and the BBC.
@Titus Oates
Titus have also sat through most of those 5 days apart from today when I was at Newmarket and I’m now looking forward to watching my recordings and fast forwarding through all the adverts, fashion talk, pointless celebrity interviews and presenters drinking cocktails and eating afternoon tea..just concentrating on the horses.
So that’s approximately 5 days of television condensed into around 5 hours of what I really wanted to watch, if only they could have a red button for the fashion chat and Z list celebs and hangers on and let the rest of us enjoy seeing the reason why Queen Anne created Ascot in the first place…it certainly wasn’t to pursue her love of fashion. JacI did 3 days in just under 2 hours the other night Jac including watching Big Orange twice
STEVEH31…”the dumbest comment anyone’s made on here” really????
I assume then that if you would rather watch some gaff racing rather than horses in the paddock for a group one race you must be some sort a gambling addict???
great we all should sit for 30-35 minutes between Ascot races watching the boring Racing UK presenters drone on because you don’t want to see other meetings.
Jac
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