It is expected to be announced in the next few days that the BBC is to lose its horse racing coverage and that Channel 4 will have a monopoly on racing's terrestrial rights for the next four years. This deal will see races like the Derby and Grand National as well as Royal Ascot move to Channel 4 from 2013.
Is it realy an improvement? I'd say they are both terrible, but atleast on the BBC there's no adverts
Come on Shergy just admit it's that nice, 'quaint' little man (James is it?) that does the fashion at BBC you'll be missing most
Good news although it makes little difference to me as I only watch the race itself and totally ignore the preamble and post race analysis unless something controversial has passed,such as in the QMCC. In fact today I shall be watching Carry On Doctor on more 4 which will lead me nicely into the opener without having to endure any inane ramblings from the "4 team".
Nooooooo - McCririck on the box at Royal Ascot - wish they would show him the door and lock it behind him
Fantastic news.Now we can be bombarded with advert after advert and have to endure that shrieking little bitch Simon Holt.
He's a country mile better than that Aussie plonker the BBC have "The champ raaaaaaaaanges up on the outside"
It's a great shame but the coverage was steadily going downhill. Channel 4 would be great without the adverts and their tendancy to run items up to within a few minutes of the start time. There is simply not enough pre-race analysis for my liking. And some of the items are dire and predictable - I turned over the Bargain Hunt when Terry B and H Knight appeared on screen again (the reds won with a profit of £18, in case anyones interested).
I see Matt Chapman is moving up the commentator's pecking order, they let him loose at Lingfield today. Won't be long til he's calling the Gold Cup
There's something a bit creepy about that bloke. I wouldn't be surprised to find out he was a porno film maker. Or something.
I'd be interested to know what the terms of the new agreement are. It is worth noting that, certainly in the past, the BBC paid racing to cover the sport, whereas racecourses had to pay Channel 4 £3,000 per race they broadcast. The Racing Post reports today that Channel 4 is believed to have offered double what the BBC were willing to pay, but it would be interesting to know whether the old terms still apply.
I was dead against this switch but now people are mentioning no more Rishi, Willie and Aussie Jim, I am all for it. All we need now is to get Big Mac into another reality tv show which never ends and we are all going to benefit. I hope this is the right thing for the future of racing, I am willing to give it a chance to prove me wrong!
As long as that means the end for Rishi whatever his name is I'm happy. Absolutely clueless that lad.
I may well be in a minority, but I am a big fan of Claire Balding and would hope that (as a freelance journalist) she will continue to be involved in racing broadcasts on some level. Say what you like about her, she knows her subject inside out.
