Eurosport deal bad news for BSB?

whats the crux of it?

will it be live on eurosport or not?

As MSV have the rights to the championship, it is in their best interests to look after the long term for BSB.  I am sure that MSV have signed a deal that they think is in the best long term interests of the sport, whilst balancing revenues. 

This report just says that it should be on terrestrial rather than Eurosport, but it is going to be on Channel 4 isn't it? So Roger Willis's argument collapses surely?

In my view none of the ITV or BBC ever do these proper justice, regardless of whether they provide extra on track interviews etc.  Anyway, as this is a british series, surely they can provide on track coverage in addition to the standard TV feed.  TBH no-one wants to see any fat blokes on a sofa in the studio, in preference to on track action and interviews with participants, unless it adds value.

burty wrote (see)

 TBH no-one wants to see any fat blokes on a sofa in the studio, in preference to on track action and interviews with participants, unless it adds value.

yeah i know what you mean...that ginger fella on eurosport is my cue to put the kettle on

as far as i understood it, the BSB coverage is going out live on eurosport and then an hour show on a tues/thurs night on Channel 4

guess we'll just have to wait and see

burty wrote (see)

In my view none of the ITV or BBC ever do these proper justice

Danny_Two wrote (see)

burty wrote (see)

In my view none of the ITV or BBC ever do these proper justice

Eh? ITV provided excellent BSB coverage, and BBC show extra GP stuff on BBCi. What exactly did you not like about their coverage? What more do you think they could of done?

Did ITV show both BSB races, Supersport, Superstock, 125s, and the R6 cup? If they did then I apologise for not giving them credit.

As for MotoGP do the BBC show all the practice and qualifying sessions for all classes?  I guess it's all in the half hour BBCi program, sorry I wasn't aware of that.

danowat wrote (see)

Be interesting to see how they cope with the BSB and WSBK clashing, also, it PISSES ME OFF that eurosport put adverts IN THE SODDING MIDDLE of races, arsehats

It's probably going to clash with MotoGP at some point too.

 There's always Eurosport 2, but the ticker along the bottom gets on my wick*. If you're watching a recording of that day's race in the evening it usually starts telling you the results along the bottom.  

 * Yes, I know I can change my TV settings so it's off the bottom of the screen, but then it cuts off a bit of the top too. Life's so unfair... 

burty wrote (see)

Danny_Two wrote (see)

burty wrote (see)

In my view none of the ITV or BBC ever do these proper justice

Eh? ITV provided excellent BSB coverage, and BBC show extra GP stuff on BBCi. What exactly did you not like about their coverage? What more do you think they could of done?

Did ITV show both BSB races, Supersport, Superstock, 125s, and the R6 cup? If they did then I apologise for not giving them credit.

As for MotoGP do the BBC show all the practice and qualifying sessions for all classes?  I guess it's all in the half hour BBCi program, sorry I wasn't aware of that.

Yes both races, 1st race usually highlights, 2nd live, R6 cup not every round but did show it, some superstock, again only at selected rounds.

BBCi shows 125/250, but agian not every GP is covered.

Danny_Two wrote (see)

Yes both races, 1st race usually highlights, 2nd live, R6 cup not every round but did show it, some superstock, again only at selected rounds.

BBCi shows 125/250, but agian not every GP is covered.

100,000 sperm and you were the fastest?

CBR929 RRY, BMW R1200RT, Aprilia Sport City 300

If bike racing is ever going to be viewed as a 'success' in terms of television viewing figures then it's going to have to have a majority TV audience of non-enthusiasts, ie casual viewers who dip in and watch a GP, BSB or WSB race because it makes exciting viewing. Maybe they'll know one or two of the riders, maybe they'll pick up on exciting championship battles through the season, but they probably won't be hardcore enthusiasts, and they won't be interested in all the support classes, qualifying etc. It's these viewers the championship promoters actually crave, because, as the Roger Willis piece explains, it's these viewers who raise the  alue of the racing as a marketable quantitiy to advertisers.

 F1 has a huge global audience (which bike racing will never come close to getting). If the BBC were to package its MotoGP programme with 125 and 150 racing, plus all the qualifying, the casual mass-market viewer wouldn't be interested. It would be like showing all the GP2 and Porsceh Supercup or F3 racing and qualifying along with an F1 race. The casual viewer doesn't give a shit. 

 The real enthusiasts are usuallly better served by the satellite channels, although fair play to the BBBC for showing the GP qualifying on BBCi. 

 That's what I think, anyway.

All original contributions to this forum by Kevin Williams are subject to a (cc) Creative Commons deed.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK: England & Wales
Full terms are available here but in brief if you use the author's work for any purpose, it's under the following conditions:
* Attribution. You must give the original author credit.
* Non-Commercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
* Share Alike. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a licence identical to this one.
VD DEALS Blog Courses Books Facebook Twitter FREE STUFF

"Force has no place where there is need of skill" Herodotus 450BC :burnout:

venus wrote (see)

Eurosport coverage of any sport is fairly crap. If you remove the adverts, the whats coming on later bits, an hours viewing only usually last 25 mins max. It's very disappointing

Have to say that I find the bike coverage excellent, the commentators are way better than those they had on ITV or BBC.

What we really need is Eurosport on freeview and then the audience level would increase. 

zz-rrrr wrote (see)

If bike racing is ever going to be viewed as a 'success' in terms of television viewing figures then it's going to have to have a majority TV audience of non-enthusiasts, ie casual viewers who dip in and watch a GP, BSB or WSB race because it makes exciting viewing. Maybe they'll know one or two of the riders, maybe they'll pick up on exciting championship battles through the season, but they probably won't be hardcore enthusiasts, and they won't be interested in all the support classes, qualifying etc. It's these viewers the championship promoters actually crave, because, as the Roger Willis piece explains, it's these viewers who raise the alue of the racing as a marketable quantitiy to advertisers.

F1 has a huge global audience (which bike racing will never come close to getting). If the BBC were to package its MotoGP programme with 125 and 150 racing, plus all the qualifying, the casual mass-market viewer wouldn't be interested. It would be like showing all the GP2 and Porsceh Supercup or F3 racing and qualifying along with an F1 race. The casual viewer doesn't give a shit.

The real enthusiasts are usuallly better served by the satellite channels, although fair play to the BBBC for showing the GP qualifying on BBCi.

That's what I think, anyway.

What you say makes sense. Essentially you suggest that the advertisers want the casual viewer who watch the main event only, the enthusiasts want the more detailed coverage offered by the Satellite channels. If the TV coverage was to offer both then that would be the solution. Say full coverage on a satellite channel such as Eurosport, and a condensed highlights TV program on one of the 4 Terrestrial channels, like say channel 4. Oh, oddly enough that's what we are going to get.

So what's Geoff Willis' point again?  Is this bad for BSB?

The Spin Doctor wrote (see)

<< Eurosport, on the other hand, relies purely on sound-only commentary teams for its MotoGP and World Superbikes offerings, backed up by a fat bloke on a sofa in a studio somewhere in the Home Counties.>>

So having Suzy Perry or one of her clones wandering thru the grid exchanging inanities with the riders is a key part of the coverage is it?

I'd go for Randy Mamola on the end of the mic everytime.

Watching Suzi wandering though the grid is the second highlight of the meeting after qualifying.

As soon as she's off and the Australian dimwit comes on, I'm off to Eurosport and Toby and Uncle Julian

And Randy

Is there a formal statement from ITV giving the reason why they have dropped their coverage?

 Whilst I don't consider this to be a blow to me personally (although my brother-in-law will feel the kick to the teeth), I'm anxious to find out whether recent cost cutting exercises (ref: phone in shows) have resulted in a lacking programming schedule.

Top-up TV doesn't offer live Eurosport, only half-hour highlights of selected sports, which don't include motorcycling.

Roger's comments are awfully partial, but I suspect that's the point of his column - to stimulate debate rather than articulate an honestly held view.

Obviously the biggest single factor in who gets what is cash  - and it's not a simple case of promoter sells rights to broadcaster.

Often it's the other way around; promoter pays for his sport to be aired and my suspicion is that ITV wanted too much cash and Eurosport were prepared to air it for next to nowt.

Blame ITV greed if you must, MSV aren't trying to shaft BSB - in doing so they'd only be screwing themselves.

I think Roger's already aware of this, I'd be surprised if he isn't, so it's probably worth taking his opining with a large pinch of salt.

Unless he'd rather see it of air altogether? Roger, Roger?