Quite a coup for the BBC! ITV shares look less & less like a recovery play now.
I've always found the ad breaks (both when racing & pre/post amble) really irritating - the presenters appear like they're constantly faced with a guy in headphones waving a running schedule in his hand in circular 'wind-it-UP!!' 'WIND-IT-UP!!!' mode, in desperation to get to the next ads - and that over-loud, dreadful sponsors message that tops & tails the ad break, horrendous.
I hope they employ Martin Brundle - always gives a (proper) technical insight & perspective from the drivers' point of view. I'm slightly negative to agnostic on James Allan (sp?) - it's not easy jabbering non-stop over what can be fairly numb-drum 'action' sometimes. Remember, Murray Walker only it made it interesting oft times by stating the bloomin' obvious & speckling his commentary with marvellous malapropisms.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 20/03/2008 at 10:26
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I was watching the race with dismay last Sunday. Dismayed at what seemed like routine conversation going on between the commentators when there was a race going on.
I`m tired of this, the adverts and what seems like constant explanations of basic facts, year after year.
Why don`t they do it with football, for example explaining `offside` at every game?
looking forward to a change then.. but wait.. wasn`t it the BBC that just used to cover highlights and not the full race when out of Europe?
Regards
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 20/03/2008 at 10:26
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but wait.. wasn`t it the BBC that just used to cover highlights and not the full race when out of Europe?
But that was when there were only the two channels. Now there are more, along with "red button" stuff, even minority sports can get full coverage. (as long as you have the facilities of course).
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I should have placed a bet on this happenning - I was a little suprised and disappointed that the ITV coverage in Australia was a little stale. Not bad, but just not different from last year.
There is something about Steve Rider's presentation that I don't like but find it hard to say what it is. Perhaps too bland, and Mark Blundel spends his time stating the bleedin' obvious.
Isn't it easy to criticize when you couldn't do it yourself!
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 20/03/2008 at 10:26
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>>and Mark Blundel spends his time stating the bleedin' obvious.
and in the afternoon repeat this was more important than the explaination in the earlier programme of how Alonso was able to overtake Kovalainen.
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i dont think the ad men like the fact that more and more races are being shown "live" in countries many hours away from GMT and so not hitting uk target audiences , oh i hope james allen doesn't jump ship or that louise goodman... i cant remember the bbc line up (presenters) from 12 years ago , can any one enlighten me? thanks ...zoo
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can any one enlighten me? thanks
Murray Walker & the late James Hunt, who was replaced by Jonathan Palmer until 1997, then ITV started broadcasting F1.
www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A543052
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I do hope that Murray's phone rang this morning.....
Even if it was only for the British and European races; having Murray do the grid-walk and using his unique talent of communicating the electric atmosphere, to spice-up Brundle's brilliant commentary, would be magical.
Their pairing was respected as the best combo in any sport. OK; Murray is now 80-ish, but the fact that he's still widely, even if not universally, regarded as the doyen of F1 mike-holders is a valuable example to us all in an ageing workforce.
[And if DC retires at the end of the season; they should install him alongside Brundle - with a bleep-machine at the ready - of course...... Shame we'll never know if Louise blushed....]
Edited by Screwloose on 20/03/2008 at 13:16
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It may be stating the obvious more often than not but I dont always listen the first time something is being said and moreover, my dad never stops asking me about this and that, so it helps that they repeat everything. Not everyone is a die hard fan so they dont absorb the info in the way a car nut does.
I personally dont mind the commentry at all and hope they take the team to BBC as ITV has never and will never be anything short of frustrating with its consistant adverts - it was a terrible move then and going back to the BBC only serves to show they have woken up to this.
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not before time... i accept that the ITV coverage was pretty good in most respects.. BUT
.. putting adverts in the middle of live action, for any sport, let alone my favourite, is unforgivable and i hope the miserable oufit goes to the wall
can you imagine a Rugby World Cup match with an advert during a try or the same with a football match or cricket, etc....unbelievable if you think about it properly.
showed utter contempt for the viewers and had me ensuring what little i did notice when fast forwarding with Skyplus i made sure i pedantically didn't purchase or have anything to do with, even if it inconvenienced me
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I do hope that Murray's phone rang this morning.....
Murray's an incredible chap, but he retired from the anchor role in 2001 aged 78.
I wouldn't be surprised if he pops up in a less demanding capacity now and then though. Apparently he has already been asked whether he will be rejoining the BBC team in 2009, and replied "never say never..."
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Best news i've heard today!
SniffPetrol will be delighted too at the demise of James Allen..
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No one's perfect. We all love Murray Walker but as much for his idiocies as anything else, and his manic enthusiasm of course.
I think people are being a bit unkind to James Allen. You have to keep up the level of patter in that kind of job, with many distractions of which the viewers are unaware. And don't forget all the celeb carp on the grid, with a former F1 driver having to interview second-generation celebettes who look like breeze blocks and have about the same level of discourse...
Before you denounce James Allen, take a look at some American oval racing and try to make sense of their commentary, and try not to fall unconscious with catatonic boredom within about twelve seconds...
All of that said, I am having a tendency to fall asleep in front of F1 these days. Age related sporting boredom overload I think it's called.
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I don't love Murray. I found him intensely irritating with all his gaffes and was glad when he went.
His dismal performance on Mastermind just reinforced my opinion of him, especially when I, as a complete novice, answered more of his questions correctly than he did.
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He's 85, he has a lot to remember.
Edited by Manatee on 20/03/2008 at 21:36
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To be honest I've never minded the adverts, they give an appropriate toilet or drink break, and the "three blind mice" is conveniently loud enough to get me rushing back to the sofa.
Murray would only return for British grand prix, and even then probably not for a whole race. He's too old now, and there are plenty of people out there capable of doing his job. Just don't let it be Jenson Button, he was dreadful at Monaco a few years back.
As for the coverage - well I tune in for the race and background to the weekend, team talk etc. I think you can fit this into 1/2 hour and I've never liked the extended documentary pieces where they follow a driver around whilst he goes skiing or rock-climbing or sailing on their yacht - we know they're all filthy rich and if I wanted to watch those sports then I'd buy Sky.
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Should my licence fee be going to fund this, when it is available free of charge on ITV?
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Not as free as you'd think - a proportion of what you pay for ITV advertised goods will be funding it.
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In France I've given up watching F1 'live' because it's on TFI, the only French terrestrial channel that interrupts programmes with ads and you wouldn't believe the length of commercial breaks in the middle of the action.
I now just video the race and block out the breaks.
Shame I can't do the same with the commentary which, apart from the measured tones of Jacques Lafitte - France's Martin Brundle - is, even for a French speaker, manically incomprehensible.
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F1 to return to BBC TV
The intriguing part of this story to me were the the following quotes:
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/73...m
"Dominic Coles, BBC Sport director of sport rights, said: "We were delighted when Bernie Ecclestone approached us about the return of F1 to the BBC. " "
www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/65913
"ITV said in a statement on Thursday that it was its decision not to continue with the deal. "ITV plc today confirmed that it has decided to exit Formula One at the end of this season," said ITV in a statement. "This was a straightforward commercial decision for ITV " "
My hypothetical scenario:
It seems ITV may not have been making enough from the adveritising revenue; the nature of the sport meant they could not squeeze in any more ads than they already were without antagonising the F1 fans further.
It also seems possible that Bernie may have pulled a fast one on the BBC who may not have realised that there was no competition from ITV for the contract and so may have paid more than was necessary to get the rights.
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Not as free as you'd think ->>
Free at the time of delivery though.
Why should the licence fee payer give even more money to Bernie Ecclestone?
"We might reasonably ask how the public interest is served by the BBC outbidding another domestic (terrestial) broadcaster to show something which is already available to every television owner in the country." Independent 21.03.08
I have sufficient self-control to refrain from buying anything advertised on commercial television.
Edited by drbe on 21/03/2008 at 17:21
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Why should the licence fee payer give even more money to Bernie Ecclestone?
www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news....0
"It comes after the corporation paid around £200million for the rights to screen motor racing - £50million more than ITV paid for its current deal - despite having no rival bidders. "
"But bosses came under fire for lavishing cash on inflated sports rights when there was not even a competitive bidding process.
F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone is said to have gone directly to the BBC about a deal and was offered an increase on ITV's current agreement. Insiders say ITV's current agreement was valued at about £150million over its five-year period.
All the other major sports broadcasters in the UK say they were not approached and there was no bidding process. "
"An ITV insider close to the sport said: "This is about a 30 per cent increase in what ITV is paying. I can't tell you why the BBC is paying this much for it. I don't know how Bernie Ecclestone pulled it off, but this is a significant increase for it."
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Even worse - a BBC executive has been quoted as saying that there will be a significant tie-in with (yuk) Top Gear.
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That tie in is to be Richard Hammond as presenter. I imagine the extra travel will somewhat cramp his style with regard to the main show - there may be a vacancy!
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Or worse they'll be racing themselves in a selection of cars bought on a budget.....
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A particular newspaper confirms today that Richard Hammond is going to present it....
Edited by Pugugly on 22/03/2008 at 07:58
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Even worse - a BBC executive has been quoted as saying that there will be a significant tie-in with (yuk) Top Gear.
I hope not but the aim is entertainment hence yet another street circuit and a night race.
Bernie wanted an AUS night race so what else can we expect?
Perhaps we will see bumpers fitted and a rules change to allow cars to be pushed back on the track to encourage more to finish.
After last week, with non finishers getting points and no spare cars are we going to see a race where drivers have to trot in to get on the podium :-((
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After last week with non finishers getting points and no spare cars are we going to see a race where drivers have to trot in to get on the podium :-((
Points for non-finishers isn't something new - it's been going on for decades.
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Despite being a keen F1 fan for as long as I can remember, if `Top Gear`has any association
with the TV presentation i won`t be following it further on television.
Is it more `dumbing down` as with the isobar less weather and self focussed news?
Edited by oilrag on 22/03/2008 at 08:21
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Will the new proposals mean any crashed cars will be flung over a trackside goalpost with a trebuchet, while gargoyle esque characters laugh manically on screen, followed by reciprocal donkey braying of the lumpen proletariat in front of their televisions?
Regards
Edited by oilrag on 22/03/2008 at 08:38
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Lumme, what was that in my croissant this morning ?
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I take it we have to fit suitable characters from certain motoring (term used loosely) programmes to your description, oilrag! ;-)
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Quite enjoying the surrealism of the BR this last 24 hrs ! But to stay with this topic.......
Re the BBC / F1 - downside of the move for me is the lack of ad breaks. In my case it increases the likelihood of being caught snoring on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon. At least when there are ad breaks punctuated with that loud chanting theme thingy it reminds me to instruct SWMBO to fire up the kettle ;-) or encourages me to stumble through to the office to see if there is anything interesting on here or something. Unbroken coverage of some races would, I fear, induce catatonia. As it is, it achieves just the right balance. The timing is also perfect as it cuts across the danger zone of Sunday PM when one is often tongue lashed into DIY or Garden based futility or worse still, visiting relatives. By claiming to be an ardent F1 fan much of this can be reasonably avoided. Falling asleep during said coverage sort of undermines the whole argument.
I am quite worried about this.
;-)
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I will be using a timeslip recorder in case I need to pause the live feed.
Regards
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So - would the use of such a device enable the tactical adding of say an hour or so to the programme length ? Hmmm !
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I've found that as well - programmes I like have become longer.
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This has just given me the germ of a plan. Scenario - F1 Sunday PM. Settle down to watch , SWMBO gets bored and goes out. Set timeslip thingy. Have snooze .. await sound of Mrs SS returning , switch race back on.... still have up to 3 hours of reasonable excuse for inactivity. Isn't technology great !
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