ASCOT COVERAGE = ENTERTAINMENT

Quite a lot has been debated recently regarding horse-racing as a sport as opposed to a betting medium. I, for one, have often accused it of being overly complex and mystifyingly boring to the novice.

This week I have had the opportunity to follow Royal Ascot on channel 207 and what a pleasure it has been!

Firstly - congratulations to whoever was behind the flighting of this event on a channel other than 232.

Now let's try and unpack what makes it so special and how this could possibly be duplicated for the local product :

1.) Surely we have to start off with the production quality? I understand the event was filmed in HD by the BBC. This suggests that, although we see the end product in 'normal' definition, we still get the benefit of a much better picture due to the fact that the source material is of a vastly superior quality.

I don't ever recall having being able to actually assess the condition of horses as well as one has been able to do this week. The picture was razor sharp compared to what was flighted on 232 via GBI from the same event.

To my mind this is one of the biggest failings of the industry at present - they assume that 'any visuals will do' as they believe they are catering to a market that is s-o-o-o addicted that they will accept anything.

I watch about 90% of all TV in HD and now ( as I suspect many others do ) actively avoid content that is not in that medium. The Tellytrack offering is often awful from a technical standpoint and does little to foster support from the UNTAPPED market as it resembles the Summit or Bloomberg channel more than it does a sports channel.

2.) Then we have the pace of an uniterrupted broadcast. Wow! we get a good feel for the event and much of the social activity which is so much a part of Royal Ascot. Yet the horse remains the focal point of the broadcast. And nowhere scrolling prices and dividends!

I would be surprised if the viewing statistics did not reveal a decent viewership that does not normally view horse-racing.

3.) The team - with the possible exception of Willie Carson - was also good. I appreciate the advantage of using an industry insider for 'expert' comment but frankly I find Willie Carson a bit whiney and not an awful lot of help from an evaluation persepective.

The balance of the team are excellent. They know everybody. The speak to most of the leading players and they manage to get through their slots without an unending succession of 'ums' and 'ers'. Nor do they need to continually scratch through form guides on air. Preparation? Hmmmmm.

They also largely avoid the inane, childish and sometimes inappropriate banter so beloved of local presenters. Nor do we have to be subjected to their punting 'war stories'.

I suspect it all comes down to training.

3.) One piece of betting information which I did enjoy was hearing the presenters mention some of the large bets that had been struck on various runners. I won't mention that UK fixed odds betting attracts no tax or deduction from punters' winning bets!

4.) All in all Ascot has been an absolute shining light insofar as what can be done to make the sport of horse-racing more appealing to a wider audience. A number of posters have appealed for better coverage of our 'big days'. To a limited degree this has already been done but Ascot reveals what we should be shooting at.

What's also enjoyable (OK, I know it costs!) is the short inserts on some of the horses during the buildup to the big races like the Gold Cup. The interviews are short too. The whole effect is one of pace and variety, so when one starts glazing over at interviews, suddenly there's something about one of the facied runners, then something on the track manager, then we move on speeedily to the next item. Never a chance to get bored, and you know if you move away for five minutes, you'll miss something.

Agree 100 % it's been gripping stuff!
Willie is a Scot but have to agree a bit of a pain however the banter with Frankie, the interviews with trainers etc has been a world class production.

loving this

2cents PLEASE tell me you have been booked to be part of the July presenting team....

willie is brilliant ,his insight and thoughts are world class...his insight into the way so you think has been ridden before were out the top drawer.....it really is the greatest week in racing

gregbucks Wrote:

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> 2cents PLEASE tell me you have been booked to be
> part of the July presenting team....


He's not pretty enough!!

gregbucks Wrote:

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> 2cents PLEASE tell me you have been booked to be
> part of the July presenting team....

midweek vaal meetings are my chop

2cents Wrote:

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> gregbucks Wrote:
>

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>

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> > 2cents PLEASE tell me you have been booked to
> be
> > part of the July presenting team....
>
> midweek vaal meetings are my chop


correct with a merit rating of 58 you should be sent off to kimberly once a week to present

I knew I should have taken leave.

www.oscarspleasure.com/a-royal-feast-of-racing

super coverage heh? How can you resist doing anything else but watch. Super racing too!
c'mon South Africa! watch, learn and apply.

2cents Wrote:

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> gregbucks Wrote:
>

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>

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> > 2cents PLEASE tell me you have been booked to
> be
> > part of the July presenting team....
>
> midweek vaal meetings are my chop

Are you kidding?