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Chris Dixon is fine in the studio and Donn was on the phone with a pre-racing preview of the meeting but not one of RTV’s highly publicised five-person team of experts was present at the track.
This is the bit that’s really getting to me- without one of their guys at the track, we aren’t going to get any of the interviews like we did with ATR. That makes it a downgrade in itself.
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!Irish Replays return to Attheraces website
https://www.attheraces.com/news/2019/January/11/irish-replays-return-to-attheraces.com
From the perspective of a British viewer RTV as a whole packed in today’s four meetings well. There were a couple of annoying interruptions towards the climax of two races at Kempton from the studio to announce an Irish race was off.
There were two brief split screens (Fairyhouse/Wetherby), two missed starts at the Irish track and no presenter at Fairyhouse.
Therefore, the Irish viewer’s perspective is accurately summed up by Thewexfordman on another thread:
“This is just dreadful. Richest race in UK and Ireland was the Dan Moore at Fairyhouse today, one of the richest and top 2 mile Chase’s on the National Hunt Calender. Bigger first prize than the Grand Annual Chase at Cheltenham and the Racing TV didn’t preview the race, or get any expert comments, or analyse the form, or even show a replay of the finish. No interviews and apparently no report from the course. It’s absolutely scandalous and Irish racing is going to suffer an awful lot if this type of disinterest in Irish racing continues”
RTV needs a second TV channel and in the absence of the remotest hint of one it seems to confirm suspicions RTV only acquired the rights for the big Irish meetings (most of which are on a Sunday and suit the existing RTV schedule) and festivals.
Channel-hopping this afternoon, I took a look at SSR at around 3:30 today.
French trotting.
What is the point of televising that? I mean, is anyone actually interested, once the novelty of seeing the ridiculous spectacle once has worn off? Nobody, not one person in the UK, will be interested.
Wow. What a Brave New World SSR is.
Terrible week on SSR, only 3 meetings (worth watching) on the channel in the last seven days.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
I’ve had a chance to watch a fair bit of live racing on SSR this week and I’d have to say the coverage is average. Some interesting sort of ‘behind the scenes’ pieces from the course, however, there are no stand out presenters and at least one odious one. In addition, there is an opportunity wasted for the serious immediate pre- and post-race analysis often provided by RTV.
As for the latter, its usual high standard is met for Irish meetings when the schedule affords the time. However, Kate Harrington today was appalling, she certainly was.
Have a massive dislike for RTV in regards to irish racing, there by far worse at presenting it and making it stand out than atr, not a fan atall.
For those who can access it, here is a link to Richard Forristal’s latest critique of Irish racing’s switch to RTV:
I do not agree with his opinion that Irish racing is an unwanted hindrance to RTV. If it appears that way it’s only because RTV often lacks the capacity to do it full justice and will continue to do so unless and until it adds a second TV channel.
I do not agree with his opinion that Irish racing is an unwanted hindrance to RTV. If it appears that way it’s only because RTV often lacks the capacity to do it full justice and will continue to do so unless and until it adds a second TV channel.
Surely if they wanted to do it right, they’d have the second channel, or at least have their presenters on the track on the smaller racedays- and broadcast it on RTV extra?
As they don’t, would that partly agree with RF’s opinion?
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!Not a racing post member so cant read the article, unless someone does a screen shot online of it, but the general gist is correct. SIS have sold irish racing down the river to keep their tie in with RMG going. Apart from the major race days the rest of irish racing is going to be a bit part player, and shunted online where lets face it the viewing figures will be atrocious. Christ cable subscribers cant even access Racing TV Xtra its a major own goal.
The irish courses would have been front and centre of any Sky Sports Racing channel content, and its a damn shame they werent even given a chance to bid for rights as SIS were hell bent on selling them to RMG.
And tbh Irish Racecourses and HRI are to blame at the start of this as well for selling all their picture rights to SIS who in turn can do what they like with them.
Not really, Jack, I think “unwanted hindrance” is wrong per the following:
RMG’s profits from RTV go back to its racecourses. I don’t know how much profit is made. When it pays for the rights to another country’s racing (France might be an example) presumably that is because RMG thinks the revenue from the extra subscribers attracted to RTV by that product will exceed the amount paid for it.
The purchase of Irish racing is a much bigger deal in every way. The rights to it must’ve cost RTV a pretty penny. Added to this is extra production costs, salaries, etc, etc. Furthermore, there would be the expense of acquiring second channel space on all TV/satellite/cable platforms (which would far from be used everyday). I’ve no idea of the financial figures involved in all this.
Therefore, I reckon RTV would prefer to do it right but possibly can’t afford to. In fairness, this would emphasise your point, James, that SSR should have been given the chance to bid. Most blame attaches to HRI, some to SIS and the least to RMG/RTV who will have found it impossible to resist an exclusive opportunity.
However, it’s looking like a catch-22 situation. RTV will not attract remotely enough new Irish subscribers, judged by reaction to its coverage so far, to recoup its outlays (let alone make a profit) unless it expends further on a second channel (and even then profit is not guaranteed). Is RMG/RTV willing to take the risk? I think it should. RTV has to prove it hasn’t bought a pair of boots it wanted but are too big for it to wear (and if it does invest further it would also have the benefit of retaining British subscribers who feel the existing product is being squeezed for time).
If RTV fails to take this gamble the proportion of blame attached to it and the amount of accusations against it, such as RF’s, will grow. Ultimately, if RMG cannot return a profit to its racecourses (who may feel they are, in essence, subsidising Irish racing), if it cannot grow into its new boots, it will gradually lose its product to an entity that already enjoys the capacity to accommodate it, Sky Sports.
RUK were determined to get the rights they missed out in the previous round when they tried to team up with Setanta and set up a separate station.
It is completely true the SIS’s deal with the HRI is why they changed if the HRI had not sold the rights to SIS then almost certainly they would have signed to Sky Sports as Sky would have paid extra to get them like they have done with Chester & Bangor but no matter what money Sky through at HRI they had already sold the courses down the river.
2022 will be interesting I can see Chelmsford going back if they can get out of the SIS deal as Fred Done was furious at the switch and if the HRI see sense and don’t extend the SIS deal and realise what a mistake they made I can see Sky getting it back but money will talk in 2022.
It is very unusual though for a track to swap from RUK so far only four tracks have swapped in the 14 years Doncaster, Ascot, Chester & Bangor it’s usually the other way around.
Agree with all of that GM.
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!Maybe just me but I don’t like having presenters on course ……… I find pre and post race interviews with jockeys and trainers fairly meaningless and cliché ridden …….. he’s a nice horse etc …….. let’s go over to Sir Bob at Lingfield for 10 seconds before the advert so we can see him shuffling around with his hair blowing away in the wind desperately trying to find anyone to swap some clichés with ….. oops they’re loading, better get the advert in
waste of time
my usual practise is to note down which races I want to watch during the day and just put the relevant channel on at race time and turn it off when they go past the winning post
I much prefer studio presentation with people sat at desks with no wind blowing, no yobs in the background, no chance to ‘interview’ trainers and jockeys, hopefully with pundits who can talk about form, betting and general racing issues as they crop up
With co-operation from tracks RTV managed to pack in four meetings well today, no split screens and only one missed start. Inevitably it came at Navan (where there was no presenter) which, in fairness, was probably the fourth best card. Nevertheless, I doubt the (lack of) coverage pleased Irish viewers.
Fully accept that Navan was the 4th best card today, however, even to be able to go to Gary O Brien 10/15 minutes before the first race to preview the card would at least have been something to appease the follower of Irish Racing, but for RTV to not even mention Navan until 2 minutes before the first race is awful, especially when Navan was the first meeting to start today.
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