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@Ian Davies didn’t Chapman call Joe O Shea “John O Shea” at the end of the Foxhunters ?
Viewing figures yesterday down 800,000 on 2 years ago and 1,3million shorts of CH4s last National
Hi Father Jack,
Tbh I had ITV Racing on mute as usual and only unmuted it when Joe O’Shea was interviewed and by accident on one other occasion when The Brains Trust (aka “The Social Stable”) were asking a Scouse girl who had never been racing at Aintree what, err, a day at the races at Aintree is like.
I think Joe “JayJay” O’Shea is top entertainment – and a very effective trainer in his sphere.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"When are Aintree going to stop calling that race ‘The Foxhunters’? Would seem sensible, given that fox hunting is actually illegal. Jumps racing really needs to get a grip or it will follow Greyhound racing towards the abyss.
BUY THE SUN
Disappointing viewing figures those, for it to be on ITV’s main channel and be 1.3m down on Ch4’s last renewal will not go down well with the ITV executive you’d suspect. Not sure what the Prince Philip factor would have done regarding the figures?
Betting shops being closed must have been a factor. How many once a year punters are going to bother opening an online betting account?
If they have not been able to back a horse in the race, many will have not bothered to watch.
The world is changing and, while IMO racing marketeers have had some success persuading the wider public that a summer Saturday afternoon or evening at the races is a good chance to booze, listen to live music – oh, and watch a bit of racing and maybe have a bet – that once timeless family tradition of literally every family member having a once-a-year flutter on the Grand National has, in fact, had its day and is slowly on the way out.
There will always be interest in the Grand National, but IMO it’s best days are behind it and no amount of dumbed-down racing coverage can alter that.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"The best days may well be behind it but I think viewing figures are possibly distorted by unusual events.
The scar of Cheltenham 2020
No show last year
No Tiger Roll
Shops closed
Newspaper circulation dying due to pandemic
The economy a bit deflated
Few office sweeps
Stay at home message about to change
The death of the DukeWe best review it next year !
Agree with Gamble, I wouldn’t read too much into one year’s figures in these turbulent times, and I don’t think they are enough to infer a drop in popularity of either the Grand National or of ITV’s coverage compared to 2019.
I know a lot of people on here dislike the ITV coverage, but I enjoy it and did so as usual on Saturday. Of course it’s not perfect, but I think they do a decent job of trying to broaden the sport’s appeal, and am very thankful they remain keen to do so.
One thing I’m less keen on is the National starting at what seems to me a strange nowhere time that’s neither late afternoon nor early evening. Saturday afternoon is now an agonisingly long build-up! I preferred it when the race started at 3:45, though I believe international audiences are part of the reason why it has crept back.
I am with you on that Marlingford it so late I am almost ready to take my teeth out and in the mood for a double cocoa and a
double Murder in the Rue Morgue, or a slasher movie like Valentines.
I presume football stops at 5.00pm, so maybe the Rollerball movie rules.No-one on here accepts we are all stereotypes of Victor Meldrew and the wrong side of fifty and no longer spring chickens and ITV is trying to cater to the young cluckers rather than the old ******* who can remember Fluff Freeman Daz whites and Zebeddee’s boing boing
Newspaper circulation has been dying for years, gamble – the internet is the culprit there, not the Pandemic.
So long as they keep some sort of lid on the arty camera angles, and actually enable me to watch the races, I don’t mind watching ITV Racing, but for me it’s no better – and often worse – than watching a race on my iPhone after I have had a bet so I frequently forget to even switch the TV on when they are broadcasting.
As for catering for the young, I’m not buying that – it’s mostly self-indulgent nonsense and I doubt if many under the age of 40 are impressed by it either.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Understandably with (particularly) Prince Philip and pandemic the pre-race news coverage was very limited this year. Many non-racing people didn’t even know the National was taking place. Always going to be a drop in figures. Thankfully with Rachael winning there should be a resurgence next year.
Value Is EverythingMust say I was disappointed with ITV Racing’s coverage. Seemed far fewer features on the runners, jockeys, trainers and owners than there’s been previous years… And the few that were featured seemed very brief.
Value Is Everythinggamble seems to have lost his teeth in a late night post and possibly part of his mind.
People of any age can enjoy watching racehorses stretch their succulent limbs in green surroundings, and those in adulthood, with hopefully well formed minds, should be given enough information or sources to unravel the nuances of what impacts and counts to wager sensibly on outcomes. The spectacle of the race should be viewed as an art form with furious brush strokes culminating in a thrilling finish – all captured on film.
I think it lucky indeed terrestrial TV in whatever format is there to support the sport, however the product is not failsafe and nowhere near as pure as its bigger rival football. I think Marlingford is right in his gratefulness of what we have.
Until horses can learn to talk we need the likes of interesting personalities like the Rachaels of this world to inspire the sport to higher levels. As for the microphone pundits they might actually soon come to realise their core audience could never muster enough strength to save this country from a land invasion. If there are youngsters looking in then they need to be educated rather than pandered to and entertained with high jinx.
I honestly think the programme should be put on a war footing with no smiling for a week. Tony McCoy can train them all. Let’s get those angles attended to and bring the horses fully into the picture and centre stage. Relieve the jockeys from the stress of talking and stop following horses with those pointed objects.
Unbridledd Joy in the form of poptastic
should only be expressed at the big Cheltenham and Aintree festivals – the shop windows of the sport.This is a serious game.
Hoiles, Hoiles, Hoiles!
Great knowledge of racing, but oh that voice. Boring monotone he tries to inject excitement into it but he just hasn’t got a voice for commentating. For commentary it’s like having a voice for radio, but only some have got the chords for it.
During the national I did like ITV’s attempt to mirror the BBC by having a few commentators doing different parts of the course and handing over. In this case though Hoiles would have been better off in the country around fences 1-6, not there at the finish.
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