|
||||||||
Horse Racing on Terrestrial TV |
![]() |
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|
#476 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,022
|
To the moderators.
Please do not delete comments without warning and without providing an explanation as to why. It took me quite some time to compose my last comment (I did after all compile a list of almost 160 names of horses that I typed out myself - it was not a copy and paste job). I replied in a truthful manner and it did not contain any abusive remarks. You ought to be targeting the posts that contain gratuitous expletives, internet slang/text speak, and ones that are made to provoke other users. I have seen plenty of those that have NOT been deleted. Thank you. |
|
|
|
|
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
|
|
|
#477 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,924
|
Having been to both the Aintree and Cheltenham festivals I much prefer watching on TV, with wall to wall coverage on ATR & RUK there is no need to watch C4 unless it is for HD coverage of the actual races.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#478 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hull - UK City of Culture
Posts: 27,235
|
Quote:
To the moderators.
Please do not delete comments without warning and without providing an explanation as to why. It took me quite some time to compose my last comment (I did after all compile a list of almost 160 names of horses that I typed out myself - it was not a copy and paste job). I replied in a truthful manner and it did not contain any abusive remarks. You ought to be targeting the posts that contain gratuitous expletives, internet slang/text speak, and ones that are made to provoke other users. I have seen plenty of those that have NOT been deleted. Thank you. Nobody is stopping you posting what you did just where you did it. This is a thread about Horse Racing on Terrestrial TV and your post wasn't about that. I am not a mod I have just read the rules. |
|
|
|
|
#479 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,793
|
Due to the delay of the start of today's racing on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival, Channel 4 will stay on air until 5pm, meaning they will take in the 4.40pm race, where the favourite Quevega will attempt to win the Mares' Hurdle for the fifth year in a row. That's a good move, but instead of binning a Come Dine With Me repeat, they've chopped Deal Or No Deal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#480 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 568
|
Quote:
Due to the delay of the start of today's racing on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival, Channel 4 will stay on air until 5pm, meaning they will take in the 4.40pm race, where the favourite Quevega will attempt to win the Mares' Hurdle for the fifth year in a row. That's a good move, but instead of binning a Come Dine With Me repeat, they've chopped Deal Or No Deal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#481 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 154
|
I think they upped their game a little today.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#482 |
|
Inactive Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 13,188
|
The boss of Channel 4 racing has acknowledged that the revamp hasn't worked and there are elements missing including the humour brought by John Francome, the pointless interactive desk used by Cunningham and that something isn't right so they are aware of it and looking into making changes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#483 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: NW England
Posts: 2,149
|
Quote:
I think they're going a bit too far getting Jamie Oliver to present the Grand National this year
|
|
|
|
|
|
#484 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,513
|
From Charles Sale: 'Thommo treads on toes
Channel 4 have made an official complaint to Cheltenham and Radio 5 Live about their former reporter Derek Thompson appearing in camera shots on the first day of the festival. Thommo, who was sacked in the C4 revamp along with John McCririck, was interviewing winning connections in his Festival role for 5 Live on territory reserved for television, with C4 insiders believing he was doing it on purpose. But Thommo said: ‘I didn’t know I couldn’t operate in that area. I knew the Simonsig stable girl so just started chatting to her. Channel 4 should know I’m now being heard by more listeners than they’ve got viewers.’ Meanwhile, C4 executives, including director of commercial affairs Martin Baker, were remarkably cock-a-hoop about first-day Cheltenham viewing figures being up on last year. But the 1.3million peak was the same as 2012, with the average audience rising from 767,000 to 802,000.' All fairly amusing. Bit petty from Channel 4 if they really did make a complaint, but Martin Kelner's recent book highlighted how overly competitive sports broadcasters can get. |
|
|
|
|
|
#485 |
|
Inactive Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 13,188
|
Channel 4 have a nerve a jockey was being interviewed by some journalists including Jim McGrath (Aussie) when Clare Balding marched in, interrupted and took over.
Channel 4 racing seem to think they can just do what they want and no other media exist. |
|
|
|
|
|
#486 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 1,363
|
Quote:
Channel 4 have a nerve a jockey was being interviewed by some journalists including Jim McGrath (Aussie) when Clare Balding marched in, interrupted and took over.
Channel 4 racing seem to think they can just do what they want and no other media exist. |
|
|
|
|
|
#487 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 31,434
|
So a company that was providing a perfectly adequate and successful service (according to my friends in the racing fraternity) has been replaced by a company that doesn't ? Another triumph for outsourcing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#488 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 120
|
Exploitation & Cruelty to animals. Excellent! I hope you're all really pleased with yourselves.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#489 |
|
Inactive Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 13,188
|
Quote:
Exploitation & Cruelty to animals. Excellent! I hope you're all really pleased with yourselves.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#490 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 55
|
Channel 4 racing has improved thanks to Clare Balding, Rishi and Mick Fitzgerald! Just a shame the rest of the team, those kept from Channel 4 racing's previous incarnation are bland, bland, bland. Simon Holt I know is liked by many but in my opinion he is a terrible commentator he has no gravitas to his voice Big Jim from the BBC would have been better! Not looking forward to the Grand National and Ascot with all those adverts! Lets hope Racing can persuade the BBC back to the table next time!
|
|
|
|
|
|
#491 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 910
|
Quote:
Channel 4 racing has improved thanks to Clare Balding, Rishi and Mick Fitzgerald! Just a shame the rest of the team, those kept from Channel 4 racing's previous incarnation are bland, bland, bland. Simon Holt I know is liked by many but in my opinion he is a terrible commentator he has no gravitas to his voice Big Jim from the BBC would have been better! Not looking forward to the Grand National and Ascot with all those adverts! Lets hope Racing can persuade the BBC back to the table next time!
Holt this week at Cheltenham has once again proved to me why he is head and shoulders above everyone else in horse racing commentary. His end calling on Quevga was superb. |
|
|
|
|
|
#492 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 17,541
|
Quote:
From Charles Sale: 'Thommo treads on toes
Channel 4 have made an official complaint to Cheltenham and Radio 5 Live about their former reporter Derek Thompson appearing in camera shots on the first day of the festival. Thommo, who was sacked in the C4 revamp along with John McCririck, was interviewing winning connections in his Festival role for 5 Live on territory reserved for television, with C4 insiders believing he was doing it on purpose. But Thommo said: ‘I didn’t know I couldn’t operate in that area. I knew the Simonsig stable girl so just started chatting to her. Channel 4 should know I’m now being heard by more listeners than they’ve got viewers.’ Meanwhile, C4 executives, including director of commercial affairs Martin Baker, were remarkably cock-a-hoop about first-day Cheltenham viewing figures being up on last year. But the 1.3million peak was the same as 2012, with the average audience rising from 767,000 to 802,000.' All fairly amusing. Bit petty from Channel 4 if they really did make a complaint, but Martin Kelner's recent book highlighted how overly competitive sports broadcasters can get. That's hilarious.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#493 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,793
|
Quote:
Channel 4 racing has improved thanks to Clare Balding, Rishi and Mick Fitzgerald! Just a shame the rest of the team, those kept from Channel 4 racing's previous incarnation are bland, bland, bland. Simon Holt I know is liked by many but in my opinion he is a terrible commentator he has no gravitas to his voice Big Jim from the BBC would have been better! Not looking forward to the Grand National and Ascot with all those adverts! Lets hope Racing can persuade the BBC back to the table next time!
As for racing returning to BBC television, unless there's more money in the BBC bidding pot, allied with a change in appetite towards racing from BBC Sport bigwigs, then unfortunately racing will not be returning to BBC on the box any time soon. |
|
|
|
|
|
#494 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 55
|
Quote:
You are in a minority of one by saying Simon Holt is a terrible commentator; as a previous poster has stated he is the best sports commentator around (on terrestrial television at least - miles better than Clive Tyldesley or Guy Mowbray, though Steve Cram came of age at last years Olympics). As for saying "Aussie" Jim McGrath would have been better, then you're not a big follower of horse racing, because the word around racing is that as a commentator, McGrath's powers are on the wane, big time. According to someone on a racing forum, during a recent racecourse commentary at Ascot, he made reference to runners "heading towards Tattenham Corner". Now the last time I checked Tattenham Corner was at Epsom!
As for racing returning to BBC television, unless there's more money in the BBC bidding pot, allied with a change in appetite towards racing from BBC Sport bigwigs, then unfortunately racing will not be returning to BBC on the box any time soon. Quote:
I know all about opinions but I totally disagree with that comment. For me he is the best sports commentator around (I watch most but not Rugby so maybe someone is good from that sport) only one maybe on par would be Martin Tyler.
Holt this week at Cheltenham has once again proved to me why he is head and shoulders above everyone else in horse racing commentary. His end calling on Quevga was superb. Thommo has been fantastic on BBC radio five live proved what a good broadcaster he can be. He was wasted by Channel 4 but then again I was never a fan of Channel 4 racing. Think they held racing to ransom over the years and there is no wonder the BBC got fed up with basically racing paying channel 4 to cover racing until recently. Not looking forward to all the adverts during the Grand National! |
|
|
|
|
|
#495 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: West Midlands (OK Birmingham!)
Posts: 2,285
|
Quote:
So a company that was providing a perfectly adequate and successful service (according to my friends in the racing fraternity) has been replaced by a company that doesn't ? Another triumph for outsourcing.
However, no production company should expect to keep retaining any contract to provide programming just because they've done it for 20 odd years and the alleged 'popular with the viewers' slant. Channel 4 racing had it increasingly easy in the past couple of years because of the BBC getting bored with racing, and their coverage also being produced on a treadmill, and shoestring. Apart from Racing UK and ATR - there was nowhere else to go for racing coverage other than Channel 4. A couple of my gambling friends hated the constant 'old boys' club style of presentation and banter from Down, Thompson, Francombe and McCririck. I fully agreed. I thought Highflyer were getting rather too complacent and samey with the coverage of regular Saturday afternoon racing coverage, and only really upped the game for the big meetings. Obviously the bid document to Channel 4 from them must have read like 'more of the same'. Answer, replace them as producers and, and let someone new to have a go. Which is what happened. Apart from a proper mobile studio (rather than squatting in a hospitality box) and new graphics, there isn't that much different in this years coverage of Cheltenham by IMG from the last couple of years by Highflyer in all honesty. I expect some new innovations, and ideas will start to come through next year - and probably test some out at Aintree next month and Ascot in June. |
|
|
|
|
|
#496 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,793
|
Quote:
Thommo has been fantastic on BBC radio five live proved what a good broadcaster he can be. He was wasted by Channel 4 but then again I was never a fan of Channel 4 racing. Think they held racing to ransom over the years and there is no wonder the BBC got fed up with basically racing paying channel 4 to cover racing until recently. Not looking forward to all the adverts during the Grand National!
Quote:
However, no production company should expect to keep retaining any contract to provide programming just because they've done it for 20 odd years and the alleged 'popular with the viewers' slant. Channel 4 racing had it increasingly easy in the past couple of years because of the BBC getting bored with racing, and their coverage also being produced on a treadmill, and shoestring.
Apart from Racing UK and ATR - there was nowhere else to go for racing coverage other than Channel 4. A couple of my gambling friends hated the constant 'old boys' club style of presentation and banter from Down, Thompson, Francombe and McCririck. I fully agreed. I thought Highflyer were getting rather too complacent and samey with the coverage of regular Saturday afternoon racing coverage, and only really upped the game for the big meetings. Obviously the bid document to Channel 4 from them must have read like 'more of the same'. Answer, replace them as producers and, and let someone new to have a go. Which is what happened. Apart from a proper mobile studio (rather than squatting in a hospitality box) and new graphics, there isn't that much different in this years coverage of Cheltenham by IMG from the last couple of years by Highflyer in all honesty. I expect some new innovations, and ideas will start to come through next year - and probably test some out at Aintree next month and Ascot in June. |
|
|
|
|
|
#497 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 73
|
As anybody else noticed the 'whirling' noise (if thats the right description) whenever the c4 coverage goes to the studio.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#498 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hull - UK City of Culture
Posts: 27,235
|
Simon Holt - superb, absolutely superb.
|
|
|
|
|
#499 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hull - UK City of Culture
Posts: 27,235
|
Quote:
Channel 4 racing has improved thanks to Clare Balding, Rishi and Mick Fitzgerald! Just a shame the rest of the team, those kept from Channel 4 racing's previous incarnation are bland, bland, bland. Simon Holt I know is liked by many but in my opinion he is a terrible commentator he has no gravitas to his voice Big Jim from the BBC would have been better! Not looking forward to the Grand National and Ascot with all those adverts! Lets hope Racing can persuade the BBC back to the table next time!
|
|
|
|
|
#500 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,780
|
Agree with Darren, I thought Aussie Jim was the best caller through the 1990's but seemed to lose it in recent time. Holt has been fantastic for a long time now and for me is the master of his trade
|
|
|
|
![]() |
|
All times are GMT. The time now is 17:06.





That's hilarious.