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Can we sign a petition or beg RFC to get rid of Chapman? I’m terrified of attending a meeting at somewhere like Fontwell and Plumpton and hearing him doing the course commentary, would totally spoil the day.
No Mark its called torture to those poor viewers , who will miss countdown badly
10 extra minutes of those guys is enough to make anyone ill ….imo
Ricky
I’ve just had a random thought – will the BBC still be covering the Arc meeting from 2013?
I’ve just had a random thought – will the BBC still be covering the Arc meeting from 2013?
Lets hope not Paul lets hope not. Think the horseracing world has had enough of the dearthly coverage. Oh and their ££££ input as well…
I’ve just had a random thought – will the BBC still be covering the Arc meeting from 2013?
Lets hope not Paul lets hope not. Think the horseracing world has had enough of the dearthly coverage. Oh and their ££££ input as well…
I’d be amazed if the BBC covered the Arc meeting again after the present contract runs out.
I suspect that covering a top French race was seen, at the time, as complementing the BBC’s coverage of other "crown jewels" races at home.
There wouldn’t be a lot of point in covering the Arc in isolation after the end of this year, although I suppose you couldn’t absolutely rule it out.
If you’ve lost the Derby, Royal Ascot, the other big meetings at Ascot and the Grand National, why would you want to reconvene a disbanded BBC racing team for an Arc day meeting in isolation?
In any event, the BBC coverage of that weekend has been diminishing in recent years, with the corporation being criticised for reduced or axed coverage on the Saturday and some of the races being "behind the red button".
I doubt there will be much appetite for hanging on to the Arc coverage, even supposing the BBC are in a position to bid for continued rights.
Another random thought. If Clare Balding really does go to Channel 4 Racing as a freelance, and the BBC retains coverage of the Arc, would she be allowed, as a freelance, to return to the BBC to host the Arc coverage, as a one-off?
Doubt the situation would arise, obviously. If the BBC did defy the odds and cover the Arc, and Clare was at Channel 4 officially, no doubt Rishi Persad would host the BBC Arc coverage.
Let’s hope Channel 4 don’t "poach" Willie Carson…..Is Lesley Graham still on the team …..if yes aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrgh ……if no then some folk might be tempted to watch it again
Shocker …….
….imo of courseThe BBC seems to be pulling out all the stops in its Epsom coverage of Oaks day on Friday.
I saw in a TV magazine that there will be "expert analysis" from Rishi Persad and no less an authority than Sonali Shah.
Apart from the obvious advantages of ticking the right boxes and scoring highly on the BBC’s diversity register, it’s difficult to be anything other than thoroughly impressed with the bolstering of the BBC’s team by bringing in that well-known racing expert, Sonali Shah.
I have to confess that, until now, I had never heard of Sonali Shah. A quick check on Wikipedia revealed that the BBC is rightly boosting the gravitas of its Epsom team by bringing in a heavyweight presenter whose racing pedigree includes a lengthy stint on children’s TV programme Newsround.
Here are the racing credentials of Sonali, courtesy of Wikipedia:Sonali Shah (born 26 July 1980 in Edgware, London) is a British newsreader of Indian descent, who presented the BBC’s children’s news programme Newsround from July 2006 until November 2011. She now occasionally presents the weekend edition of BBC World News.
Shah trained as a dancer for over 10 years, studying Indian classical, Indian folk and Streetdance. Married, she lives in London and supports Arsenal FC.
Shah began presenting on the local hospital radio. After university, in early 2002 she joined BBC World Service as a producer, also presenting on World Business Report and The World Today. In 2002, she moved to BBC Radio 5 Live as launch producer for Jeff Randall’s Weekend Business. She then began reporting for Weekend Business, as well as Wake Up to Money and 5 live Money.
Shah joined Newsround initially as an afternoon relief presenter. From 2006, as part of a new team replacing Ellie Crisell and Jake Humphrey, she presented breakfast, afternoon and weekend bulletins for the show as well as presenting the main show from 2008.
Sonali replaced Ellie Crisell and Jake Humphrey who were presenting the main show previously. Shah also reported for Sportsround, and posted an online diary from the 2010 Commonwealth Games for the Newsround website. She made a number of Newsround Specials, including two documentaries from Afghanistan in 2010, which were also shown on the BBC News Channel. In 2011, she has guest presented Match of the Day Kickabout on BBC2, and made guest appearances on Sadie J and Blue Peter.
In 2010, Shah went to Delhi to present coverage for the Commonwealth Games for BBC Sport on BBC One and BBC Two. She was one of the main reporters for the events coverage.
She was one of three BBC presenters, along with Manish Bhasin and Rishi Persad, at the 2011 Cricket World Cup in the Indian sub-continent. Also in 2011, she reported from the University Boat Race and Wimbledon.
She regularly presents a special programme for BBC One called British Olympic Dreams, broadcast since February 2011, that follows the Britain’s potential Olympic hopefuls for 2012.Impressive stuff for Epsom, I can’t deny.
I suspect she will just be doing the interviews on the open-top double-decker buses, with incisive questions such as "Which one of you is celebrating his birthday?" or "Which one of you is the bridegroom?"
Not forgetting interviewing the winning stable lass or lad after the big race on the walk back, in the style of Dan Walker, who used to do it, and the jolly woman with the double-barrelled name who I think did it last year.
Meanwhile, I see that Channel 4 is putting a ceiling of £7 million on the costs of producing its racing coverage next year, now due to include Epsom, Royal Ascot and the Grand National.
Let’s hope Clare Balding moderates her wage demands….
Highflyer is facing a big challenge from BBC providers Sunset + Vine. Should be interesting who gets the production rights, especially as Channel 4 director Denise Large seems to have shot herself in the foot and has had to stand down until the end of the bidding process.The BBC has pulled out of televising the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp this year.
In view of the loss of all its racing from next year, it has decided not to seek an extension of its contract with France-Galop. It will be the first time that the BBC has not shown the race since 2001, when Channel 4 stepped in to broadcast Sakhee’s victory under Frankie Dettori.
Channel 4 covered the race for nine consecutive years from 1986.
Will Channel 4 now step in at the last minute and cover this year’s Arc meeting?
The Racing Post today reports that Channel 4 says: "We are aware of the position regarding the Arc and it’s something that is on our agenda."
I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Channel 4 do come to the rescue. You certainly can’t blame the BBC for pulling out in view of what has happened over the loss of their coverage next year. Not much incentive for them to get excited about the Arc.
Let’s hope any negotiations with Channel 4 don’t include a clause that Willie Carson must be part of the team.
If Channel 4 don’t step in, the Arc meeting will apparently be on At The Races and Racing UK as part of non-exclusive French contracts.http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/channel-4-announces-horseracing-team
Can’t understand why Emma Spencer is there.
Also cue a predictable (yawn) response from Crusty Patch regarding Tanya’s inclusion.
Clare Balding & Nick Luck are the two best presenters in racing so that has to be good.
I am utterly staggered that Mick Fitzgerald is on the team. His presenting skills are poor and his diction terrible. I’ve never heard him say anything of value or particular interest. Rishi Persad’s remarkable good fortune seems to continue.
Is this the end for John McCririck?
Mike
Agreed Paul, can’t see how boring Emma Spencer is still there. Though he’s equally dull would still prefer to see Mike Cattermole. But PLEASE PLEASE stop doing interviewing the winning jockeys after the race, its annoying and adds nothing to the coverage.
Gina Bryce – haven’t seen a lot of her but she looks a bit plain.
Graham Cunningham – great choice, excellent race reader.
Simon Holt and Richard Hoiles – excellent news best race callers in Britain.
Rishi Persad… nah really bad choice there.
Mick Fitzgerald – again wrong choice very dull.
Sam Thomas – hmmmmm remain to be convinced, but I guess he’s eye candy for the ladies.
Tanya… please there’s got to be someone better than her, how about that chap who does the betting for RTE in Ireland? At least its not John Parrott though am a fan of Gary Wiltshire.
You wonder why such a big team of racing experts are needed when in truth about 3 or 4 could bring a sensational product.
Personally I think there are too many spare parts doing roles that feature 1-2 minutes of air time per hour which really isn’t productive nor does it entertain the notion of viewer variety.
I’d like to see a strong team of professional’s; Nick Luck, Clare Balding, Matt Chapman and the commentary team of Richard Hoiles & Simon Holt.
Nick Luck & Clare Balding with the main control of direction of the show with race analysis, paddock analysis and general activities.
Matt Chapman interviewing connections pre/post race & betting updates.
You wouldn’t need anymore than that, all the others can do their bit on the morning line really.
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