Viewing figures alarming- UK Racing

John Francome: former rider is missed on
Channel 4, says Franklin

CHANNEL 4 RACING's former long-time supremo Andrew Franklin has launched a stinging attack on the programme, describing the current format as lacking the spark, energy and humour of old and dubbing the exodus of viewers for the sport's biggest occasions as alarming.

Franklin's 28-year tenure at the helm of Channel 4's coverage came to an end when Highflyer was replaced by IMG Sports Media as the network's racing producer in January 2013, with the switch coinciding with the commercial broadcaster becoming the sport's exclusive terrestrial broadcaster in Britain.

That seismic change ended the BBC's decades-long association with racing on television and thereafter resulted in viewing figures for some showpiece events being decimated, not least Royal Ascot and the Investec Derby, more than half of whose audiences have been lost in the space of two years.

In an inte rview in Saturday's Racing Post, Franklin said: "Far and away the biggest worry is the showpiece occasions haven't bottomed out yet. Channel 4 keeps saying it is proud of the programme but in the end it comes down to how many pairs of eyeballs you have attracted. The term I keep hearing when people talk to me is that Channel 4 must be ‘in denial'.

"In my view, the loss of viewers has been alarming. Everybody knew viewers would be lost from events the BBC used to cover, but the numbers far outweigh those lost by other sports that moved from the BBC to a commercial channel. No-one could have predicted that."

Franklin highlighted viewing figures for not only the afternoon output but also The Morning Line, about which he said: "I think it has become extraordinarily dry. I don't think it quite knows whether it's a magazine programme or a chat show. The figure for the last Morning Line of 2014 [178,000] was appalling. It was one of 14 Morning Lines [62 were broadcast in 2014] where the audience fell below 200,000. There were none at all in Highflyer's last year."

Assessing the programming as a whole, Franklin added: "I think they miss individuals - particularly John Francome, who was unquestionably the star of the show. The presenters seem to get on with each other from what I can see, but there is nothing over and above that. There's no sense of chemistry, which there was before.

"To me, the programme's focus has narrowed. Bizarrely, it is now much closer to the style of the specialist channels [At The Races and Racing UK]. It has lost the spark, the energy, the humour and the occasional bit of unpredictability that characterised our output."

Franklin, whose departure coincided with that of many on-screen regulars, including Alastair Down, Derek Thompson, Mike Cattermole and John McCririck, also criticised Channel 4 for failing to name who will be Clare Balding's successor as presenter of this year's Crabbie's Grand National.

He said: "We heard a lot about continuity when IMG was awarded the contract, but look at the arrangements for the first three ‘crown jewel' events in the calendar. There's Clare presenting Cheltenham, a possible celebrity presenting the Grand National and presumably Nick Luck presenting the Derby.

"I cannot fathom that at all. Here we are, less than three months away from the Grand National, the most-watched sporting event of the year, and nobody knows who is presenting it."

Does that now mean that the Grand National and Derby are no longer considered as the compulsory "five" for BBC?

Bbc don't show racing at all MAC

This proves a point stressed many times, passive exposure does not generate new players for the game.

Broadcasters base channel allocation and content on numbers, even if racing numbers have held steady something else might be offering growing viewership which is more profitable as far as advertising revenue goes.

It is time for racing to actively market participation to turn around the long term declining trend.

Who, but players and owners would tune in to watch racing as a spectacle and even more so if it requires a pay to view channel in most areas in future.

This should be a wake up call for all those still in doubt about racing losing it's relevance in modern society.

I preferred the old-style Channel 4 Racing with Francome, McCririck et al. I don't think the new version is as good (it's certainly nowhere near as entertaining), but whether that's the real reason for the falling viewing figures is a moot point. Channel 4 Racing doesn't offer anything which racing fans can't see on their TV or PC seven days a week via either Racing UK or ATR - and that's where Channel 4's real problem lies for me.