- This topic has 324 replies, 45 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 4 months ago by
.
- Posts
Tomorrow SSR could be criticised for having no Jumps racing on a Sat in the core of the season, however, RTV is likely to receive the greater flak for having too much! Even if nothing goes wrong it’s hard to see how RTV is going to fit in coverage that is satisfactory to both Irish and British viewers on the main TV channel.
The authorities seem to have done the best they can with race times but I strongly believe it is wrong that any AW meeting should commence until after the final Jumps race has finished on such Sats as tomorrow. In the event of bad weather 2 or 3 AW meetings can be conjured out of thin air and shoved into an afternoon slot at the drop of a hat.
I count 30 Jumps races (I don’t include Bumpers) on RTV tomorrow and have worked out that to avoid the possibility of a split screen impairing enjoyment I will have to be prepared to either cast or switch to ITV4 in respect of 13 of them!
Observations from today:
Only one person in a combined presenter/pundit role at each track but two analysts in the studio – wrong balance.
A ‘Super Saturday’, where were Nick Luck, Lydia Hislop, Jonathan Neesom and Steve Mellish?
Severe technical difficulties with commentary for the first at Gowran Park.
Half of the big race at GP shown split screen.
Ditto the Kingwell.
Haydock’s GN Trial, a proper race run at a GN pace and full of incident (probably more than will occur in the big race itself), split screen at both ends.
Two specialist channels directly available on TV, one had nothing of import and the other was overcrowded. It’s a potty way for racing to advertise itself.
Let’s be a bit fair here goldenmiller34 Ascot is moving to SSR so this will solve any future issue when Ascot is on a Saturday afternoon plus of course Chester & Bangor are moving over in less than 2 weeks.
Let’s also be fair and not blame Rtv for everything, Racing is probably the only sport where the tv rights are not sold in packages if million pound football clubs have to comply with tv packages and get no say over the pictures why can’t racing?
A simple rule change could have force all uk racing to have to be sold in packages not sell their own rights then both channels could have equal rights to top quality races and low grade racing.
Allowing the courses to choose who they sell their tv rights too is never going to be solved while the Jockey Club own all the top courses and as most courses signed up to long term deals last year nothing can really be done for many years.
You forgot them not even bothering to show the bumper from Gowran, split screen for most of the Big race at Gowran, and we didn’t even get to see any of the first circuit in the beginner’s chase
It’s one thing to provide this kind of low quality coverage if you are a non subscription channel but when RTV are charging the price they do,it just isn’t good enough.
It easy to see why Ascot have left.@runandsip84 Ascot left RUK (Rtv) because they never really wanted to swap in the first place they only swapped in the last rights round due to a deal RMG did with them over QIPCO, it was said at the time by an Ascot rep that the course was happy at ATR.
Ascot are the only UK course that wants to be truly independent with it’s tv rights and isn’t really happy playing ping pong between Ruk and SSR with itv as the net, they know they can sell their tv rights and ignore these 3 channels if they want to.
I remember a quote when Ascot left ATR that big Ascot meetings were not a big draw to ATR as people could watch them on itv it is the smaller courses that bring in the viewers as they are not viewable elsewhere.
As far as Ascot goes as well they still havent said wether Champions Day will be on SSR yet as Ascot dont own those rights, no reason why they shouldnt right enough.
Possible that QIPCO might move the champions day to an Rtv course if the deal with RMG means that they want the final on the same channel as all the other QIPCO rounds, it would be a bit embarrassing for Rtv and QIPCO if they had to show the final on a rival channel.
All this rights and packages business, Steve, one way of looking at it is that JCR and ARC are packages and there are a few independents. They are dangerous, especially Ascot. Why? Imagine if, say, Manchester United could sell their broadcasting rights independent of the Premier League and FA. It would upset the applecart. What would, say, Oldham get for theirs! The big would get richer, the small poorer. Viewers would be forced to pay to more different platforms. (Ferrari in F1 would be another example.) If there is a collective in a sport it should be total, mavericks like Ascot are a bad thing overall.
Ascot formal announcemeent of next months move to ATR –
Some chap named Eddie O’Leary has joined me in saying RTV should have a second TV channel!
While the BHA come under fire on the flu, whips, welfare in general, hind shoes etc., this thread highlights again the biggest admin blunder in racing’s history – the ceding of commercial rights (fixtures) to racecourses (essentially private companies who are ripping the funds out of the sport)
Unfortunately a bit like those who dislike donald trump irish racing is stuck with it for four years, no amount of moaning wil change it, there will be no concessions from racing tv until the tv rights come up for renewal im E3 years time. Rmg bought irish to spite atr and put them out of business it failed now it is stuck with a load of racecourse it doesn’t really want. They did same with s Africa and US racing.
For those who can access it, strong stuff from Richard Forristal (though he may have gone just a teeny weeny bit OTT in likening the current situation to that which shamefully prevailed under British rule!):
What he does not do is point to where the reader can locate the exact words RMG used to rule out a second channel. As RTV is also (like Irish racing) going to lose out long term due to poor customer experience I don’t understand why RMG won’t consider one.
A 2nd tv channel doesn’t come for free, do you know how much sky, virgin etc charge for renting a channel it certainly is not in Rtv best interest financially to have a 2nd channel, they already have the rights what financial benefit is it to them, they can fit most races onto one channel so unless people want to pay double for their rtv subscription the cheaper option is an online presence.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.