MotoGP: BBC TV boss in commentary team dispute

Falcorob is bang on the money.

Forget the niceties of who gets to front which show, you're lucky to have any coverage at all.

The money's drying up, teams are quitting, there's no such thing as privateers any more, the riders are becoming more like robots every day (Rossi excepted), and the result is virtually the same every race. You're lucky the BBC thought it worthy of investment at all.

It could be a lot worse.

I agree with Akey. What really p's me off is the reduction in coverage - something that awarding the contract to the BBC was supposed to increase. Having available via the Red Button (or not at all in the case of practice) is the same as having it on Eurosport - ie NOT free-to-air.

I put the blame fully in the hands of Dorna who seem hellbent on ruining MotoGP.

K3Racer wrote (see)

I agree with Akey. What really p's me off is the reduction in coverage - something that awarding the contract to the BBC was supposed to increase. Having available via the Red Button (or not at all in the case of practice) is the same as having it on Eurosport - ie NOT free-to-air.

I put the blame fully in the hands of Dorna who seem hellbent on ruining MotoGP.

No the award of the contract was supposed to improve availability to viewers not increase the event coverage.

Dorna apparrently don't care for that, they just want viewer numbers to increase.  Thinking about it, it's these numbers that they can 'sell' to potential advertisers/sponsors more than numbers of hours to limited viewers.

I think the figures are supposed to be 150,000 for Eurosport and 1,100,000 for the BBC. As I understand it the BBC has had generally good feedback on their commentary team from the surveys they have done. I guess those of us who watch(ed) Eurosport had already voted not to watch the BBC so we're dead set against going back anyway. Having said that; I just don't like Charlie Cox's style its so 1970s darts match. (If you know what I mean). Stavros: has anyone heard him deliver any real insight during the last 10years?

Its all down to Dorna wanting the viewing figures. Its all about advertising after all.What I don't understand is why they had to cut Eurosport off.

I will seriously miss Eurosport's coverage - especially those coverage marathons they used to put on - and I'll miss Moody, Rider and Mamola.

I wonder if there is any way in which we can get commentary from them? Maybe something web based on top of the MotoGp feed - not necessarily live but later in the week. Of the 150,000 Eurosport fans how many would stump up £20 for the year I wonder?

PS there is an on line petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/motogp09/petition-sign.html

I agree with Victor9098 Eurosport coverage, commentary and analysis is just in another league when compared to the BBC team.

Brilliant idea have a mute commentry button the BBC would then know how many Moto GP fan's don't want there commentry.

So are 125 and 250 races only be on interactive button is that right?

I bet the BBC team tell us who won the 125 & 250's while doing commentry on Moto GP.

tripod_dave wrote (see)

PS there is an on line petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/motogp09/petition-sign.html

You're not serious?

Christ, I love motorbike racing too, but I'm not about to slit my throat over it.

Obviously against the overall opinion but I found Moody and Ryder inattentive e.g. often missing overtakes whilst blabbering on about 'olden times'. They would then notice the change of position and proceed to speculate about what had happened then seem surprised when a replay showed them the overtake as though no one had seen it.

I liked Randy Mamola's comments and insight but a commentary is primarily to give 'accent' to what is happening not miss it. Interesting as the talk of days of yore may be or the technical background to individual bikes there is time before the race to make those observations or at least not become so engrossed in swapping anecdotes that the action of the race is missed.

Cox and Parrish are similarly affected by waffle and not perfect by any means but they do seem to realise that they're there to comment on the race and are not so prone to missing the action.

On a another note there is probably more chance that being on a mainstream terrestial channel 'non' fans may become aware that motorcycle racing didn't end when Barry Sheene retired. They may just be converted to regular viewers which can only bode well for the sport continuing to be part of the programme schedules. 

hi guys,

I think more people should be pointing their fingers at carmelo over all this. It was his choice to drop Eurosport. I dont think really over money - as ket territories like the UK wont have to pay much if anything at all. Dorna needs them more then they need Dorna.

I found this blog post interesting: http://outwiththebigboys.blogspot.com/2009/01/ducati-points-finger-at-carmelo.html

Theres obviously a growing concern among the big boys that Carmelo's desicion making is at best a bit rubbish, at most really damaging.

Re the BBC commentary - I dont like it much (Parish is a particular weakness) but my overall thinking is that you dont grow sports and expand by pandering to the masses and alientating the real fans.

There's 6 million odd bike racing fans in the UK, so the Beeb has lots of scope to grow its audience from the average 1million viewers. To do this I believe they should aim higher with their coverage and view their audience as highly knowledgeable fans rather than a general "intro to racing" style.

But then again, if Carmelo keeps going the way he is, the rules will ban actual motorcycles...great cartoon sprocket

Mwah x

MissMoto45 wrote (see)

hi guys,

 I dont like it much (Parish is a particular weakness).

.

.

There's 6 million odd bike racing fans in the UK 

I think you need to be of a certain age to be a Parrish fan. He may seem to you to be a dithering old idiot, but to me, he's the bloke that blew up the toilet block with Barry Sheene in Sweden. Believe me, he's no old duffer.

As to the 6 million bike racing fans, I'm not sure where you got the figures from. The last time I heard there were 1.5 million motorcyclists in the UK, I can't imagine four times that many people are bike racing fans. More's the pity...

Welcome anyway, MissMoto45, I'll have a large vodka if you're buying.

Hi Alan,

I agree - I'm just bit young for him I suppose.

Re 6 million fans, that comes from BMRB's TGI survey. My mum, dad and brother are all fans of bike racing, but none of them have ever had a bike.

Also, that research is based on adults so there should be a fair few kids to add in to the overall figure.

Is that vodka on the rocks or straight up??

xx

Another thing:

Last year we had coverage of the MotoGP race on BBC, and pretty much full coverage of all the races and practice sessions on Eurosport.

 I read somewhere (it may have been someone's post on VD or elsewhere) that Eurosport viewing figures were something like 150,000 and the BBC 1.1 Million for last year anyway.   I presume that was for the MotoGP race.

It's difficult to see how a change to the BBC only is going to result in more viewers anyway, at least not very many .  I mean it's not like the BBC is really offering much more is it?  And it seems that there might not be that many bike racing fans topick up.

I don't care myself about the viewing figures, I just know the commentary and amount of air time the whole series receives over the season is not going too be at the same level as Eurosport.

No recording either?? What's all that about?

Why is there at least ONE cage driver every day that seems out to kill me?