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The Guardian piece is excellent, agree with most of it.
Here’s the link
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/20 … -channel-4
Racing is just about the worst sport going for communicating its delights to the wider world.
Hiding its flagship (to outsiders) event on a minority channel is a really silly thing to do. It would have been far better had the BBC had kept these events and revamped the coverage.
And not just the GN…as the reply to the article by Boieingclipper suggests, C4’s Royal Ascot broadcasts may be even more embarrassing than the BBC’s.
PS, just to make some people even crosser, here’s a link to another Guardian article a day or so ago, about the supposed cruelty of the race
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/ap … tt-charityI must confess that, when people talk about TV viewing figures being greatly reduced when the race moves to Channel 4, I don’t quite see why the people who have watched it on the BBC for years won’t have the nous to press the Channel 4 button instead of the one for BBC1.
No doubt even those once-a-year people who don’t know, even on the day, that the race is no longer on BBC1 will be able to use a bit of amateur detective work and carry out the not-very-exhaustive research necessary to discover that the race is three buttons away on Channel 4.
The non-racing fans who watch the Grand National because they have had their annual bet won’t care which channel it is on, as long as it is on somewhere.
Nobody is going to say: "It doesn’t seem to be on BBC1, mam. Let’s give it a miss, shall we?"
I still think the BBC’s gravitas and professionalism is worth a lot. We can do without Tommo going along the line of the crowd near the edge of the track and asking them all to say who they have backed before getting them all to cheer.
"We’ll be back in just one minute with the world’s greatest steeplechase. Stay with us."
"Tarns, what’s happening on the exchanges in the National?"I put several posts on that Guardian comment board about giving to charity. They have misrepresented Animal Aid as some caring animal welfare charity, which posters on here no they are not. I was disappointed that the Guardian was taken in by them. Animal Aid changes it’s spots when it wants to dupe the public, who probably think it is like the RSPCA & not an extremist organisation that wants animals banned (apart from wild ones).
They are getting more & more coverage & support from the National Press, if there are some fatalities this year it will play right into their hands; this year could well be one of the last Grand Nationals, though I don’t think Channel 4 coverage will be as harmful as some fear.
It’s raining heavily in Stockport this morning for the second day lets hope it is in Liverpool & continues through out the week.Why all the fuss? If 8 million people want to watch the National surely they can switch over to Channel 4.Its not as if they are being asked to subscribe to a pay-per view channel.I wonder what the viewing figures would be if Sky came in & bought the National rights? 8 million? I doubt it if even 1 million would watch.Personally I don’t have the figures to hand but how many people are watching the brand new Formula 1 season now it’s changed to Sky from the BBC? Or the national cricket team since Sky brought the rights? Or the viewing figures the last time a premiership football match was shown on terrestrial TV…that’s right there never has been a premiership football match beamed live on terrestrial TV because Sky have had the rights since it’s inception in 1993.The BBC’s sports coverage diminishes year on year is’nt it time they considered abolishing the TV licence & committing to advertising to raise revenue?
Personally I find Ch4’s coverage fantastic & having got rid of McCririck they have a fine cast of presenters.Hopefully they can find a spot for the fluent commentary of JA McGrath on their team but I for one cannot wait for Royal Ascot 2013 when I no longer have to put up with the nauseating Willie Carson for 5 days straight!Personally I find Ch4’s coverage fantastic & having got rid of McCririck they have a fine cast of presenters.Hopefully they can find a spot for the fluent commentary of JA McGrath on their team but I for one cannot wait for Royal Ascot 2013 when I no longer have to put up with the nauseating Willie Carson for 5 days straight!
There are certainly a few weak links in the BBC team — Paul Daniels aka Willie Carson, John Parrott and Gary Wiltshire.
I assume the JA McGrath bit is satirical ("er, further back in the field…. er, out deeper on the track, we see… er…").
At Royal Ascot, we could well be swapping Willie Carson doffing his top hat to the viewers for Tanya Stevenson parading her Rod Hull-style hat, in between telling us what’s being supported "on the machines" or whether the Pricewise selection figures on the early "movers and shakers".
Channel 4 haven’t got rid of McCririck completely yet but whether he will be in next year’s team remains to be seen.As Drone quite rightly pointed out on another thread, what right have a very small minority to expect a publicly funded network to pay over the odds to cover something which by its very nature costs a huge amount to produce.
While there may have been some degree of disinheritance by the hierarchy away from the sport and what it represents to the public consciousness, the fact is that horse racing represents a poor return on investment. In the current economic climate horse racing has to accept its expendability.
The small minorities have a right to expect a publicly funded network to cover minority subjects/interests no matter what the cost. The BBC has a remit to cover minority interests, it’s part of their Charter I believe.
The problem comes from the fact that when the Charter was originally drawn up, radio and then television were in their infancy and most sports were probably happy to let the BBC cover them for no cost or very little. Things have changed, sport is big business and can demand huge sums from those companies who want to broadcast them. With the licence fee frozen the BBC have to look even more at what they can afford to produce for the same cost and it gets more and more difficult as the years go by. They are having to take over the World Service costs, which were previously borne by the Government, yet are still expected to be the flagship UK broadcaster. Labour was even proposing that some of the licence fee should be siphoned off to S4C and Channel 5, yet insisted that the BBC sell off parts of the corporation which earn money! Then had the cheek to moan about the cost of the licence fee.
The slick promo for the BBC’s coverage of the Boat Race, another venerable sporting oddity, offered a good example of what the BBC can do for an event that Channel 4 cannot.
Interestingly, just ahead of flagship Soap Eastenders, BBC1 has just broadcast one of those slick promo videos for…..(wait for it)…the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.
I think we all know where Auntie’s priorities lie. Bet there is bearly a whisper of promotion outside the Beeb’s own racing team across the BBC spectrum.
Yes, viewers will drop for the switch to C4 but the switch from Beeb to C4 didn’t do Cheltenham any harm did it?
Former BBC racing presenter and Grand National commentator Julian Wilson has branded the move of television coverage to Channel 4 a "catastrophic mistake" and "an absolute disaster".
He says in the Racing Post today: "I think it’s one of the most catastrophic mistakes that the people in power in racing have ever made. I think it’s an absolute disaster.
"Channel 4 covers racing magnificently but it is still a minority channel. The decision to remove racing from the BBC will cost horseracing millions.
"When the big events come along, the BBC is the channel everyone wants to watch. In 12 months’ time, everyone will switch on BBC1 and wonder where the Grand National has gone."
Interesting that Jules concedes that "Channel 4 covers racing magnificently" — even though he doesn’t think the station can be trusted to cover the soon-to-be-ex-BBC crown jewels — but it’s right that the BBC has always been the broadcaster for the big occasion.
Wilson seems to think that sponsors will melt away once the BBC is no longer involved. I’m not so sure about that, given all the sponsorship that racing on Channel 4 currently attracts.
Sad that Saturday’s Grand National will also see the broadcasting swansong of BBC stalwart Richard Pitman.
The Racing Post reports that Pitman, 69, has already quietly given up his At The Races presenting after apparently coming home after a run-of-the-mill day at Hereford recently and telling his wife: "I don’t need this any more."
He rang ATR and told them he didn’t want to present any more coverage for them.
I’ve always found Pitman a very good presenter and paddock expert, with a very warm and enthusiastic manner. He has also been widely praised for donating one of his kidneys.
It’s going to be the end of an era in more than one way.
Good coverage in the Racing Post today by the Boy Wonder, Lee Mottershead, of some of the long-serving BBC presenters and commentators involved in previous Grand National coverage, including Sir Peter O’Sullevan, Julian Wilson, John Hanmer, Desmond Lynam and TV pioneer Peter Dimmock, now 91.Am I alone in thinking that a lower profile for the Grand National is the best thing that could possibly happen to racing?
Am I alone in thinking that a lower profile for the Grand National is the best thing that could possibly happen to racing?
Your view will certainly be music to the ears of Paul Ostermeyer, judging by his previous post on this thread, Tuffers.
I like all the build-up and the coverage on the day. It’s a unique race, that attracts the interest of people all over the country and over the world. It would be a shame to see it demoted in importance, largely on the back of over-hyped publicity about animal welfare issues and horse deaths.
It’s a dangerous sport and, sadly, it’s inevitable that sometimes horses, or even on rare occasions jockeys, will pay what Alastair Down and others call "the ultimate price for our enjoyment". That’s the reality, sad though it is. You can never guarantee complete safety in any contact or potentially hazardous sport
When you remember how close Aintree came to closing, and the race being lost altogether, during the dark days of the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the future of the whole course came under threat, it’s good that the meeting has successfully grown in stature and that Grand National is now in a much healthier position overall.Am I alone in thinking that a lower profile for the Grand National is the best thing that could possibly happen to racing?
Nope. Eclipse First, Paulostemeyer and I to name but three correspondents have voiced similar sentiments here on TRF in the recent past
Former BBC racing presenter and Grand National commentator Julian Wilson has branded the move of television coverage to Channel 4 a "catastrophic mistake" and "an absolute disaster".
"When the big events come along, the BBC is the channel everyone wants to watch. In 12 months’ time, everyone will switch on BBC1 and wonder where the Grand National has gone."
What a ludicrous comment, it may have been the case 30 years ago but no longer, we are in the digital age now. In fact I could manage quite well now without BBC television these days.
I don’t see a few million less watching on C4 a problem at all especially when they are people who are only capable of switching on BBC1 (notice it’s all on BBC2 today & tomorrow) and wondering where the National’s gone rather than just pressing a button and watching it.
And of course it will make no difference to hundreds of millions watching worldwide.I always tune into The Morning Line on Channel 4 to confirm which horses I WONT be backing.
Royal Ascot is now going to be peppered with the annoying Paddy Power and Ladbrokes Adds which will spoil the whole atmosphere, and will they be showing most of the races or will be missing out on the first and last race each day (usually recorded and shown on the Morning Line).
I hope we don’t have Emma Spencer and Mike Cattermole giving their opinions on the fashion and Big Mac (will they let him in the Royal Enclosure )
How much time will be spent at the paddock before the race, where we used to see the whole field now we just see the top 4 in the betting (if we’re lucky).
I’m very tempted to set my video on Tuesday to record the whole 5 days so that I can have the pleasure of fast forwarding the bits of no interest, which sadly will be many.Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...What a ludicrous comment, it may have been the case 30 years ago but no longer, we are in the digital age now. In fact I could manage quite well now without BBC television these days.
I don’t know, I would say 95% of my TV viewing is across the BBC (apart from BBC3), there is very little of interest on commercial channels apart from Countdown and some documentaries on C4 or 5.
Apart from the racing I never watch any commercial channel live, I just cannot bear the advertisements and I’m sure the proliferation of PVR’s must undermine the entire principle of advertising generated revenue.
And of course it will make no difference to hundreds of millions watching worldwide.
I’m not sure of that either as the worldwide distribution comes off the back of BBC Worldwide, so presumably a different distribution model will be required in future.
The European feed, for example, is via Eurovision of which C4 is not a member and is unlikely to be after the hatchet job it once did on the organisation.
….and Big Mac (will they let him in the Royal Enclosure
)Big Mac is in the Royal Enclosure every year
I’m very tempted to set my video on Tuesday to record the whole 5 days so that I can have the pleasure of fast forwarding the bits of no interest, which sadly will be many.
That’s exactly what I do now. I never watch any Channel 4 racing live, including the Morning Line, or any on At The Racing.
It goes without saying that I always fast forward everything Tanya Stevenson says, unless she is interviewing someone like the clerk of the course.
On ITV and Channel 5, they seem to be taking a break after only about seven or eight minutes. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Even if I watch an old Columbo, they are taking a break barely before the thing has even got going. It’s amazing how quickly you can watch programmes if you fast forward.
I’m not called Crusty for nothing and I can’t stand watching any adverts now. On the rare occasions I do watch anything live on a commercial channel, I take a leaf out of my Dad’s book and mute the adverts.
To have all those sponsorship breaks and ad breaks during the Royal Ascot coverage will totally spoil it. I know it’s a commercial station and that’s how it’s funded but it still spoils things for the viewer.Wislon is living in the past when the beeb did a good job on the sport, the personnel were good and there was little alternative.
When exchanges came in Wislon admitted he couldn’t adapt to them and wanted to preserve the advantage he had with bookmakers, he needs to come into the modern world.The personnel who present the sport these days on the beeb are at best poor.
Couldn’t believe Clare Balding a couple of years ago when she said big races should be exclusive to the BBC, what arrogance? We pay a subscription to watch these races luv.
I also had to laugh when she said she’d given her life and soul to the BBC’s coverage of the sport. It didn’t show on the odd days it was on.
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