Originally Posted by wordfromthewise:
“Clicked on the link above and immediately saw Luke Harvey ( bad) and Mick Fitzgerald ( worse) and didn't change my opinion that ITV have seriously blown the opportunity to make a change to how racing is broadcast in this country.
Change for changes sake ( Holt replaced by the wordy and nerdy Hoiles) and same old same old ( the aforementioned plus McCoy who is obviously a superstar of the sport but an absolutely terrible broadcaster).
I know he's marmite and also a risk but now that Matt Chapman has got his boot in the terrestial door I hope he livens things up a bit and manages to oust some of the bland talking heads that pepper the coverage of the sport and look like they will continue to do so.
Nick Luck ( as knowledgable an interviewer and anchorman as you will find anywhere) and Graham Cunningham ( expert form summariser and great sense of humour) were excellent and should never have been replaced.”
Many of the old C4 viewers hated the change when IMG took over, and love him or love him John McCririck was missed by a lot. Chapman seems to have been brought in to be a McCririck character for ITV.
Hoiles will be a good commentator for ITV, he is a good commentator. Holt may be the main voice of C4 and a very good commentator but that doesnt necessarily mean that Hoiles is a weak part of the coverage whatsoever. When calling 25 horse flat handicaps Hoiles is a class above from the rest, including Holt.
Nick Luck is a very good presenter for C4, i would rather have had him part of the coverage than change to Chamberlain but it will be interesting to see how Chamberlain is on a sport that isnt football. While i agree with your post i dont agree with Cunningham, he for me is a rather weak pundit who often seems that he doesnt know much about what is happening.