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Hi there. I was just wondering what happened with the newspaper ‘ the sportsman ‘ I remember buying it day in day out because it was cheaper but one day, it stopped. I was wondering of you could tell me why the newspaper was stopped being printed. Could they not compete against the RP?
Never ben able to find out the answer. Cheersi think you answered it yourself simply did not sell enough copies though i stand to be corrected
At the time of its cessation, the Sprotsnam‘s daily sales, and in particular those of its consolidated weekend edition, were at their very highest, possibly making it the only daily paper ever to cease trading on such a high.
It strikes me that 21 months on, none of us on here who were associated with the paper have ever spelled out in as many words the reasons why it failed. That’s not due to us being in any way cute or secretive – I actually don’t think we’ll ever be party to the whole story ourselves. However, I’d certainly put forward as contributory factors profligacy with funds early on (i.e. sponsoring so many big races at Aintree, Newbury and York); a bizarre launch date in the neverworld between Cheltenham and Aintree; a necessary reliance on PA data often of wildly varying quality and availability; and unresolved distribution issues.
My mentors in the racing team taught me more about the game in eight months than I’d learned in nigh-on 25 years before, though, and for all its trials and tribulations it was the best job I’ve ever had, and probably ever will.
Maybe I’ll write a more formal response on my blog when the second anniversary of the paper’s demise hoves into view. Who knows.
In the meantime, it should be noted that sales of the weekend Racing Ahead have been at least as good as the Sprotsnam‘s very best, and for the greater part actually a good few thousand better. Should the former ever want to go down that route, I’m probably one of the minority that thinks that a second daily sports newspaper could actually survive even in this e-media climate, though I readily accept that the latter’s short and messy existence will probably put anyone off trying to do so for the foreseeable future.
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
With the rise of the internet and the fact that the Racing Post website remained free for the duration of The Sportsman’s existence; was there ever really space in the market for two trade papers ? My suggestion is not.
I suspect you’re right BSB.
But there was potentially sufficient room for a new trade paper to knock the encumbent, fatuous and vapid, trade paper on it’s ar*se, and take over.
Like Jeremy has already alluded to, I think it was an error of calamitous proportions, that they didn’t get the first issue ready in time for the Cheltenham Festival, and I think this is ultimately what did for them. They let a massive and captive audience go right past their noses.
Two main reasons for its failure, imo.
Firstly, as has been mentioned, missing the Festival meeting was a huge blunder. What on earth were they playing at?
Secondly, and prerhaps more importantly, the initial concentration on "sports betting", as opposed to racing, meant that there was essentially no real target market for the paper – most people who bet on "sports" either just back their favourite team/performer or can get all the "form" they require from the normal sports coverage in their daily newspaper.
I remember looking forward to buying to Sportsman.
However, having done so (for the few weeks of is publication) I found it somewhat confusing, but i don’t know why. There was something not quite right but at the same time it’s quality was without question. Perhaps, for those of old enough to remember the Sporting Life any other trade paper would take some getting used too.
Not especially interested in raking over this one in much detail, but: it launched too early, not too late, of that I am absolutely sure; we may never know whether there was (or is) room for a second racing trade paper, as it was launched as a sports paper and then scrambled to redefine itself as a racing paper; and, by all accounts, the financial plan was a mess from the outset and gave it little chance of succeeding (I learnt the last-named only recently from a "reliable source").
Glad that a few people at least enjoyed it while it lasted…
It ended up as a really good paper and certainly competitive with the RP at the end. I really enjoyed reading it.
However so many people bought the first issue and were not impressed with form, layout etc and didn’t buy it again. It was definitely too early a launch – should have waited until Royal Ascot. It was a bad choice of launch date and a ridiculous picture of Kevin Keegan on the first front cover rather than racing. When the RP launched it had a huge colour pic of Sonic Lady on the cover and at least set its stall out correctly.
The idea of trying to be a sports paper was a disaster when it should have tried (initially) to be a cheaper version of the RP trying to pick up racing punters rather than professionals.
That last post just about sums up my experience as well. I read the first issue and decided it wasn’t what I was looking for. Never bothered with it again.
Which rather agrees with Pru’s comments that they launched before being ready.
I thought the paper was a good read (certainly one edition in particular Pru…
).Up against such a monopoly there is always the potential of any competition being strangled at birth, and that probably did happen to an extent, but the poor start was just as much to blame.
The good thing is that some of the good guys involved seem to have moved upwards with profile subsequently, which certainly means it was worthwhile.
It was a bad choice of launch date and a ridiculous picture of Kevin Keegan on the first front cover rather than racing.
I can’t remember whether it was Keegan or actually Souness beaming out at you all from the cover of the first edition.
Either way, the decision to place either gentleman on the cover – along with a lightweight and conjectural piece of Permiership managment speculation – rather than something more racing-oriented was an editorial decision with which many of us were at the very least uneasy.
For all that the launch date of Wednesday, March 22nd 2006 fell between the two aforementioned Festivals, there was still the Doncaster Mile (albeit at Lingfield) the day after and the Lincoln (at Redcar) that weekend that would have been more deserving of a preview cover story.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
I can’t remember whether it was Keegan or actually Souness beaming out at you all from the cover of the first edition.
Wasn’t it George Graham?
That’s the fella!
I knew it was someone who had stuff all to do with the Premiership at the time, at any rate.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
It was a real shame that The Sportsman didn’t succeed but it was never likely to given the people who were at the very top of the organisation.
The first front cover was a killer – every newspaper and media outlet in Europe gets those bookmaker press releases and no experienced journalist ever gives them much attention. To splash on one was absolute madness.
You must have huge sympathy with the foot soldiers who produced genuinely innovative racing coverage which more than matched the RP on the tipping and analysis front.
I highly doubt whether there is a market for another daily trade paper. Being involved with Racing Ahead, I at least have some idea of how much such an operation would cost and the numbers don’t really add up.
That said, there’s every chance that the Racing Post won’t be able to continue in its current format – ie with the coverage, resources and costs of a national newspaper.
No daily racing paper can survive without the 20-odd thousand guaranteed daily sales from the betting shops
Within five years, there won’t be papers up on the walls in most betting shops, it will be display screens. These are already used in Europe and are like plasma TVs only much, much sharper. The technology is developing and soon these will be as clear as newsprint and cheap to install.
Once these have been rolled out, will the likes of Ladbrokes pay around £2m per year just to put the Racing Post on their walls? There will be many more outlets to provide colours and form to these screens than the expense of paying for the Racing Post.
For once, it seems Trinity Mirror played a blinder in disposing of the paper for somewhere near its top price – although they could have got even more.
So it might be a case of enjoying the one trade paper while it lasts – and certainly their currently free website.
The weekend is a slightly different matter, as Racing Ahead Weekend has proved, but another daily looks highly unlikely.
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