- This topic has 148 replies, 21 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 10 months ago by
.
- Posts
RTV’s coverage of Cheltenham is better. The only day it is not so good is the Wednesday when it has to show a moderate fixture at Huntingdon as well which limits the amount of time for live interviews. Also did not understand why Kempton had to start so early which meant the first two races there intruded into the Cheltenham coverage.
Jane Mangan may be the break out star of their coverage. Her analysis on Thursday was excellent. Although I am getting a little tired of Dave Nevison in the betting ring. There were a few occasions during the week, such as Allmankind yesterday, when he described them as weak in the market but the caption showed they had shortened in price!
Cannot watch the likes of Cumani, Persad, Harvey and Plunkett. I actually quite like Chapman on SSR because at least he is not afraid to give his opinion but on ITV he is attention seeking and boorish.
As I was visiting had to watch Thursday’s live races @ Cheltenham on ITV.
God still as crap as ever!
Even had a segment with Matt Chapman appearing from a wheelie bin.
Would have made my year if Chapman had been locked in that bin and carted away with the rubbish.
If he does such a stunt again ….somebody please PLEASE have a padlock ready!
good luck to allWell said Blackcountry Kid
Matt Chapman is a total embarrassment, shouting, mouthing off, he is a real obnoxious pratt. Luke Harvey is another who is very annoying, he talks as though no one else knows anything about horses,is in my opinion a poor presenter and he was a very poor jockey. Chamberlin is out of his depth and knows his days are numbered and the weirdly dressed Cumani woman tries to be so posh and know it all,reading the race card. If she had been any good she would have taken over as trainer at Bedford Lodge when her Dad retired.I saw her riding the hack out a few times.
At least the ITV cover far more races than the BBC ever did and the camera work is brilliant.Chapman was awful yesterday. Really insulting about Uttoxeter and its crowd and clearly not happy to be there. Think I prefer it when he is being an over-excited boor. Same on the Morning Line saying what an anti-climax it was after Cheltenham. Well done Andrew Thornton for putting him right. I have never been to Uttoxeter but the people there seemed to be enjoying their day out and it was decent enough racing.
Agreed green more Ruby and less of the childish antics from Matt Chapman and Luke Harvey.
If you have never seen this classic interview with Barney Curley, John Mcririck and Luke Harvey (with hair) here is a perfect summing up of the gruesome twosome.
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...More than happy with ITV coverage overall but agree that Chapman is a boorish bore and that Cumani has no passion for jump racing and is too bland regardless of code .Walsh brings out a more engaged side of McCoy.
Not involved at Cheltenham but somebody called Natalie Green has appeared as a presenter a couple of times and I don’t know who she is or more importantly who she knows but it can’t be possible to convey less interest or passion for the sport.Worryingly bad.
Love her or hate her there is no doubting Alice Plunkett’s passion and interest in the game.
ITV’s worst fault is that they always muck about with the replays of finishes when they show highlights etc.God help you if you miss the finish as it happened on any day because you’ll never get to see it as it was first shown ever again.
ITV are catering for a different audiance than us Racing freaks. Needing to attract a wider audiance.
This is it. As rugby commentator Brain Moore recently observed after coming in for some criticism, if 8 million people are watching a Six Nations match, maybe a million are purists and the rest only watch that tournament. His job is to communicate to the 7 million.
Racing is no different. It too is having its annual moment in the sun with hopefully the National to come. If ITV is not appealing to a group of racing enthusiasts then that isn’t in itself a bad thing (surely we have SSR and RUK for that). Whether or not the casual observer is impressed with Captain Yeehaa and co is of course another matter.
I think ITV do exceptionally well. I’ve been watching with a lady who’s fairly new to the sport but guess who she can’t stand?
Totally agree about Chapman.
In terms of widening the audience, Chris Hughes is a genuine catch for ITV. I am sure many on here don’t like him but to find a youngster who is a big name in the mass entertainment sphere who is not only interested in racing but actually knows a bit about it is no mean feat. There should be more of him and less of Chapman & Harvey playing the fool. If they think they can appeal to the same demographic as Hughes, they are hopelessly deluded. In terms of what ITV is probably trying to achieve, the Hughes/Bell combination is probably the ideal (better still if they can find a female equivalent of Hughes, but probably unlikely). Interesting what Cork says about Chapman as I think he’s fine on the rare occasions when he’s making a serious point and it’s really important to have a non-jockey to contribute. Happy with Chamberlain as anchorman and Walsh AND McCoy (agree with whoever mentioned the interaction between them as McCoy is deadly on his own), Blake, Weaver and other guests as appropriate. Fitzgerald and Plunkett are passable. I have never really liked Plunkett but at least she can walk around the paddock & talk without wheezing like a 40-a-dayer and, as Wordfromthewise says, is enthusiastic & interested.
I’m probably in the minority in really enjoying chapman. I don’t agree with 90% of what he says but he’s clearly speaking with passion and isn’t afraid to ask difficult questions to those in the influential jobs in racing.
Francesca Cumani is painfully bad regardless of the code she’s commenting on. Luke Harvey isn’t afraid to laugh at himself and that’s endearing. Alice Plunkett is the best co presenter in terms of overall knowledge and Jason Weaver provides some light hearted humour. Rishi Persad, I’ve forgotten more than he’ll ever know about racing.
Some things they do well and some things I detest. The “where are they now” segment is great but the fashion section during the big flat festivals bore me to tears and remind me exactly why I’m not remotely excited by flat racing.
Must admit I have never heard of Chris Hughes!
Jason Weaver is often very good on SSR when you can get him away from Harvey. He is a good tipster and is not afraid to put one up at a big price.
Kevin Blake is an excellent writer and analyst although it will be interesting to see what he has to say about his hobby horse of Irish runners being unfairly handicapped in Britain. The winners in the County and the Grand Annual looked quite well in to me!
Cumani should not be presenting jumps racing about which she knows nothing. Persad is about as lucky as you can get. He goes to all the big race meetings, the US Masters, Open Golf and Wimbledon and gives a passable impression of not knowing anything about any of them. Maybe he should stick to the bowls?
If ITV wish to accentuate the idea that racing is a sports for plummy poshos, then Cumani could not be a better choice.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.