Sky 2014

[oldace]

As usual, Arthur, fair point.

 

I cetainly don't think you should ignore feedback but what you can ignore is the same feedback made time after time by the same people. Many have an axe to grind and, as Tsunami points out, give them a free season ticket and they still wouldn't come.

 

I have no axe to grind, but as you say, even if it were free, in its current form I would not go. Does that though not ring alarm bells. If a supporter of nearly 50 years doesn't want to go what chance of attracting new fans

 

 

 

I think Tsunami is saying that given the limited budgets speedway tracks have it is better to concentrate on gaining new supporters (and keeping existing ones)rather than pursuing those who have gone and quite possibly won't come back. I agree. To put that into perspective, I received some quite appalling service from a garage a little while ago and despite the fact that I gave them feedback they keep sending me stuff by E mail and through the post. They are totally wasting their time

 

Indeed, in that respect you are like 95% of the population. Bad service and you dont go back, most wouldn't even bother with the feedback, they would just do as you did and not go again. If that garage was losing customers at an alarming rate year on year but carried on exactly as before, dismissing bad feedback from the odd customer who bothered to make it, you would consider them foolish I assume.

 

 

As to keeping the 20 existing ones above, why not just ask them rather than someone who has left ?

[Halifaxtiger]

 

I am an old man. I don't go mainly because my team no longer exists. Other reasons as well but I love the sport of speedway and watch it online as often as I can.

 

People here who no longer attend meetings do so for many reasons but that does not mean they cannot contribute.

To say different smacks of some kind of elitist nonsense.

I have never been into space but can involve myself in a discussion about the Mars Rover if I want to.

The sport in Britain is dying on it's feet and needs every friend it can find even those who no longer attend meetings.

 

While I fully appreciate your circumstances (and those of others), I always think that someone who says they love speedway but never goes is a bit like someone who says they love ice cream but never eats it.

 

It certainly doesn't stop you commenting on many aspects of the sport(to me age is mostly irrelevant) but, in my view, your opinions cannot be as wide or informed as someone who actually attends, especially if they have a great deal of experience of the sport right across the country.

 

I should say that I also find that those who do not go tend to be overwhelmingly negative in their posts. Those who do go tend to be more mixed in their opinions and that's how it should be because its not all black - there have been some real attempts by many tracks this season to attract paying spectators by one means or another, and they deserve credit for it.

 

 

I have no axe to grind, but as you say, even if it were free, in its current form I would not go. Does that though not ring alarm bells. If a supporter of nearly 50 years doesn't want to go what chance of attracting new fans

 

Indeed, in that respect you are like 95% of the population. Bad service and you dont go back, most wouldn't even bother with the feedback, they would just do as you did and not go again. If that garage was losing customers at an alarming rate year on year but carried on exactly as before, dismissing bad feedback from the odd customer who bothered to make it, you would consider them foolish I assume.

 

 

I must admit (and at the risk of being insulting) I am wondering why you choose to be a member of this forum and keep posting if you don't like speedway (in its current form, which is most unlikely to change) and wouldn't go if it was free.

 

If there was something I didn't like and ahd absolutely no intention of going I most certainly would not be part of a forum that discussed it.

 

I would say anyone who ignores feedback is foolish but it is most definitely a question of sorting the wheat from the chaff because there will be those who make ridiculous demands in that feedback. To repeat, the same feedback from the same people received time after time is worthless and I think that is the point Tsunami is trying to make.

 

Why concentrate on someone like yourself when you can try elsewhere ?

Edited October 15, 2013 by Halifaxtiger

[The White Knight]

While I fully appreciate your circumstances (and those of others), I always think that someone who says they love speedway but never goes is a bit like someone who says they love ice cream but never eats it.

 

It certainly doesn't stop you commenting on many aspects of the sport(to me age is mostly irrelevant) but, in my view, your opinions cannot be as wide or informed as someone who actually attends, especially if they have a great deal of experience of the sport right across the country.

 

I should say that I also find that those who do not go tend to be overwhelmingly negative in their posts. Those who do go tend to be more mixed in their opinions and that's how it should be because its not all black - there have been some real attempts by many tracks this season to attract paying spectators by one means or another, and they deserve credit for it.

 

 

 

I must admit (and at the risk of being insulting) I am wondering why you choose to be a member of this forum and keep posting if you don't like speedway (in its current form, which is most unlikely to change) and wouldn't go if it was free.

 

If there was something I didn't like and ahd absolutely no intention of going I most certainly would not be part of a forum that discussed it.

 

I would say anyone who ignores feedback is foolish but it is most definitely a question of sorting the wheat from the chaff because there will be those who make ridiculous demands in that feedback. To repeat, the same feedback from the same people received time after time is worthless and I think that is the point Tsunami is trying to make.

 

Why concentrate on someone like yourself when you can try elsewhere ?

 

I LOVE my Speedway but feel I am being driven out by stupid Rules HT. I go EVERY week as you know. (I also like Icecream). The ONLY recourse that I have to criticise or praise our Sport is through this Forum. Oldace has every RIGHT to air his views on here, I don't always agree with him, come to think about it I hardly ever agree with him - BUT - as a Speedway 'nut' he has as much right to comment on the way our Sport is run as anybody else.

 

Oh! - and age is NOT irrelevent - we had the VERY BEST that Speedway had to offer years ago.

 

Speedway today is just a pale shadow of what it used to be. :sad:

 

AND THAT IS NOT LOOKING BACK WITH ROSE COLOURED SPECTACLES EITHER!!!

[michaelcroucher]

Apologies if this has been asked before but are league matches in Sweden and Poland televised?

If so, does it generate the income required to attract the the likes of Hampel, Pedersen and Sayfutdinov?

Or are there other sources which allow them to pay the big money these riders require?

 

To all I have not been on here for nearly a season now and still see that some people like to have ago on here at other people. As many of you know that I don’t have sky but I do have Polish Sat. This means that even tho the speedway has finished in Poland I have had a good season with Polish, Swedish league. It is different to sky sports showing speedway. I have BT which means I get Bristish Eurosport and must say what great work they have done for the GPs and the other meetings they have shown. Going back to the topic speedway will never get big crowds like Poland and Sweden as the promoters do not do there bit in this country to get big crowds. TV companies like NC+ in Poland are on a different league to Sky and even the Swedish Satellite are on different wave lengths if you get what I mean. Clubs in this country rely on Sky for their money. If sky does not sponsor the season I really don’t know what clubs will do. I have also been to a few grasstrack meetings this year and even in the pits people are talking about speedway aboard and not in this country. I have been to a few meetings this year in UK and got to admit it has been good racing. Speedway really needs to work at something for it to stay in this country but I don’t know what the answer is. I do find that people in this forum doesn’t always help with things by putting people down and saying things that they really don’t know about. Im sure are reading this and saying well you don’t know much and what are you talking about but when you have money to go abroad and watch Speedway from other countries that are just unreal then you will understand this msg. Im sure I will get some negative feedback from this but if people think speedway will last in this country with Sky on board then think again.

[The White Knight]

To all I have not been on here for nearly a season now and still see that some people like to have ago on here at other people. As many of you know that I don’t have sky but I do have Polish Sat. This means that even tho the speedway has finished in Poland I have had a good season with Polish, Swedish league. It is different to sky sports showing speedway. I have BT which means I get Bristish Eurosport and must say what great work they have done for the GPs and the other meetings they have shown. Going back to the topic speedway will never get big crowds like Poland and Sweden as the promoters do not do there bit in this country to get big crowds. TV companies like NC+ in Poland are on a different league to Sky and even the Swedish Satellite are on different wave lengths if you get what I mean. Clubs in this country rely on Sky for their money. If sky does not sponsor the season I really don’t know what clubs will do. I have also been to a few grasstrack meetings this year and even in the pits people are talking about speedway aboard and not in this country. I have been to a few meetings this year in UK and got to admit it has been good racing. Speedway really needs to work at something for it to stay in this country but I don’t know what the answer is. I do find that people in this forum doesn’t always help with things by putting people down and saying things that they really don’t know about. Im sure are reading this and saying well you don’t know much and what are you talking about but when you have money to go abroad and watch Speedway from other countries that are just unreal then you will understand this msg. Im sure I will get some negative feedback from this but if people think speedway will last in this country with Sky on board then think again.

 

 

Do you not mean without?

[StevePark]

I LOVE my Speedway but feel I am being driven out by stupid Rules HT. I go EVERY week as you know. (I also like Icecream). The ONLY recourse that I have to criticise or praise our Sport is through this Forum. Oldace has every RIGHT to air his views on here, I don't always agree with him, come to think about it I hardly ever agree with him - BUT - as a Speedway 'nut' he has as much right to comment on the way our Sport is run as anybody else.

 

Oh! - and age is NOT irrelevent - we had the VERY BEST that Speedway had to offer years ago.

 

Speedway today is just a pale shadow of what it used to be. :sad:

 

AND THAT IS NOT LOOKING BACK WITH ROSE COLOURED SPECTACLES EITHER!!!

 

Now the season is over, yes, but you've had all season to approach George/Darryl/Alan with your grieviances. All three are approachable.

[michaelcroucher]

Do you not mean without?

 

All depends on how you read it. With sky on board or not speedway may not last in this country. So as i say all depends on how you want to read into it

[The White Knight]

Now the season is over, yes, but you've had all season to approach George/Darryl/Alan with your grieviances. All three are approachable.

 

George, at least, knows how I feel.

[Halifaxtiger]

I LOVE my Speedway but feel I am being driven out by stupid Rules HT. I go EVERY week as you know. (I also like Icecream). The ONLY recourse that I have to criticise or praise our Sport is through this Forum. Oldace has every RIGHT to air his views on here, I don't always agree with him, come to think about it I hardly ever agree with him - BUT - as a Speedway 'nut' he has as much right to comment on the way our Sport is run as anybody else.

 

Oh! - and age is NOT irrelevent - we had the VERY BEST that Speedway had to offer years ago.

 

Speedway today is just a pale shadow of what it used to be. :sad:

 

AND THAT IS NOT LOOKING BACK WITH ROSE COLOURED SPECTACLES EITHER!!!

 

I think if you were being driven out you would have gone by now (and I, for one, would have deeply regretted that).

 

You don't like some of the rules but you do like four blokes on bikes without brakes and that is what its all about at the end of the day. Some of the dreadful, corrupt decisions leave me exasperated but that is almost completely forgotten when the tapes rise and the clutches drop.

 

I just don't understand why someone who doesn't like the sport, doesn't have a good word to say about it and wouldn't go if it was free stays on a forum that is devoted to it. To me, that makes no sense.

 

Based upon his opinions he's not a speedway nut. In fact, he's anything but.

 

Age is relevant in the sense that speedway needs young supporters and converts. The likes of you, I & Tsunami are knocking on and we need others to replace us in time.

 

With the exception of the crowds, I think speedway is almost exactly the same as it was when I went as a nipper in the 1970's.

[SteveLyric2]

I LOVE my Speedway but feel I am being driven out by stupid Rules HT. I go EVERY week as you know. (I also like Icecream). The ONLY recourse that I have to criticise or praise our Sport is through this Forum. Oldace has every RIGHT to air his views on here, I don't always agree with him, come to think about it I hardly ever agree with him - BUT - as a Speedway 'nut' he has as much right to comment on the way our Sport is run as anybody else.

 

Oh! - and age is NOT irrelevent - we had the VERY BEST that Speedway had to offer years ago.

 

Speedway today is just a pale shadow of what it used to be. :sad:

 

AND THAT IS NOT LOOKING BACK WITH ROSE COLOURED SPECTACLES EITHER!!!

Is that when there were just 2 TV channels and both in black and white?!

[Barney Rabbit]

 

 

As usual, Arthur, fair point.

 

I cetainly don't think you should ignore feedback but what you can ignore is the same feedback made time after time by the same people. Many have an axe to grind and, as Tsunami points out, give them a free season ticket and they still wouldn't come.

 

I think Tsunami is saying that given the limited budgets speedway tracks have it is better to concentrate on gaining new supporters (and keeping existing ones)rather than pursuing those who have gone and quite possibly won't come back. I agree. To put that into perspective, I received some quite appalling service from a garage a little while ago and despite the fact that I gave them feedback they keep sending me stuff by E mail and through the post. They are totally wasting their time.

 

As to keeping the 20 existing ones above, why not just ask them rather than someone who has left ?

 

After many years of attending speedway at all levels, season tickets and the odd rider sponsorship, I gave up on EL speedway because of the 'some are more equal than others' way it is run and getting fed up with the way my club was being shafted time after time. This year proved no different. I do, however, attend the odd match at Mildenhall. The right changes here and there will get me and Mrs R back at Alwalton, no problem, and I believe many people in the ex-attender bracket see things the same way - sort the problems out and we'll be back. We're lucky since we can at least attend NL meetings (not every ex-attender has that available to them) as without them we wouldn't attend at all but the same situation exists - sort it and we'll be back at all levels.

 

Against that, you've got folk who, in various numbers of years have decided not to go to speedway for whatever reason. They either have no interest, don't think the cost warrants them attending something they possibly won't enjoy, may have problems getting to or from a track because of poor or non-existent public transport, or whatever has kept them away in the past.

 

What I don't see is how the never been bothered type is a better bet to attend speedway in future than somebody who is just off the sport at the moment.

Edited October 15, 2013 by Barney Rabbit

[Tsunami]

After many years of attending speedway at all levels, season tickets and the odd rider sponsorship, I gave up on EL speedway because of the 'some are more equal than others' way it is run and getting fed up with the way my club was being shafted time after time. This year proved no different. I do, however, attend the odd match at Mildenhall. The right changes here and there will get me and Mrs R back at Alwalton, no problem, and I believe many people in the ex-attender bracket see things the same way - sort the problems out and we'll be back. We're lucky since we can at least attend NL meetings (not every ex-attender has that available to them) as without them we wouldn't attend at all but the same situation exists - sort it and we'll be back at all levels.

 

Against that, you've got folk who, in various numbers of years have decided not to go to speedway for whatever reason. They either have no interest, don't think the cost warrants them attending something they possibly won't enjoy, may have problems getting to or from a track because of poor or non-existent public transport, or whatever has kept them away in the past.

 

What I don't see is how the never been bothered type is a better bet to attend speedway in future than somebody who is just off the sport at the moment.

 

How would a promotion know who they were and where to find them. Their(promotions) time is limited so I go on shows, in shopping malls, High Streets, fayres, schools,etc, to publicise Newcastle Speedway and the people you are talking about are free to make themselves known and we could ,and do, talk. Went to one football teams summer fayre about 3 years ago, I and gave a guy with 2 kids a flyer with half price admission. Turned out he was the son of a former Ivan Mauger mechanic and he now stands about 3 metres away from me. You just have to keep trying as there is not a fixed formula to it. As I have said in earlier posts, it's very much about percentages when you look to see who to talk to as they pass by. Young couple with kids better percentage.

[Woz01]

So what are Sky looking for from the BSPA to agree a new deal for next season? One big league with more variety or a similar EL with more fixtures but less guests and R/R? Or have they given up with speedway full stop?

[Tommy Sweetman]

Pretty sure Pearson,s parting shot last season was "See you all again next year ",absolutly no mention of that last night.

[PHILIPRISING]

WELL, as none of us know - including the Sky production team - he could hardly say otherwise.

[StevePark]

Pretty sure Pearson,s parting shot last season was "See you all again next year ",absolutly no mention of that last night.

WELL, as none of us know - including the Sky production team - he could hardly say otherwise.

 

Perhaps he could have said something along the lines of "We hope to see you all next year"?

[SGP]

INTERESTING times! Wouldn't say SKY have washed their hands with the sport, but clearly the product has to change. Whilst SKY are involved I expect the play-offs to remain. Hopefully a deal can be concluded. There is one large company that is keen to sponsor / be involved with the 'top' domestic league in the UK, so hopefully there are options.

[arthur cross]

So what are Sky looking for from the BSPA to agree a new deal for next season? One big league with more variety or a similar EL with more fixtures but less guests and R/R? Or have they given up with speedway full stop?

 

Given the previous info on this thread from Philip Rising and others, the Sky bosses' lack of willingness to talk to anyone from speedway regarding next season suggests they've "given up with speedway full stop" ... probably, they did that some time ago.

 

Sky's attitude to speedway isn't any surprise to anyone in charge of greyhound racing and that's been the case for at least a year !! ... last autumn, the dogs' previous Sky contract was about to end and the only chance they had of remaining on Sky was if they could find a cheaper way of producing the shows.

 

The dogs are still on Sky (although only about 70% as often as before) because a compromise was thrashed out so that the big bookmakers (keen to still make profits on the big dog races) bankrolled the betting-shop broadcasting company (SIS) to improve their normal production standards so that the major greyhound meetings could be simulcast live on Sky and in the betting shops (previously they were Sky exclusives).

 

But when that deal was being arranged, ready to start in March this year (it took long enough for a couple of greyhound meetings in each of January and February to miss their usual Sky coverage), it was openly discussed between Sky and the greyhound authorities about what might happen when speedway reached a similar stage for its Sky coverage at the end of this year .. it was a natural discussion given several of the dog tracks regularly featuring on Sky (Belle Vue, Monmore, Perry Barr and Swindon) also host Elite League speedway.

 

Sky's response to those dog tracks was that they couldn't see any chance of speedway drumming up the kind of compromise like the one they were reaching with SIS and the main bookmakers regarding the dogs.

 

Given that attitude from Sky has clearly existed for about a year, why were speedway promoters last month still only at the stage of vaguely discussing what format next season might take ? ... are the promoters really that stupid when it comes to facing up to where their sport stands within tv-priorities ? !!

[Halifaxtiger]

 

 

After many years of attending speedway at all levels, season tickets and the odd rider sponsorship, I gave up on EL speedway because of the 'some are more equal than others' way it is run and getting fed up with the way my club was being shafted time after time. This year proved no different. I do, however, attend the odd match at Mildenhall. The right changes here and there will get me and Mrs R back at Alwalton, no problem, and I believe many people in the ex-attender bracket see things the same way - sort the problems out and we'll be back. We're lucky since we can at least attend NL meetings (not every ex-attender has that available to them) as without them we wouldn't attend at all but the same situation exists - sort it and we'll be back at all levels.

 

Against that, you've got folk who, in various numbers of years have decided not to go to speedway for whatever reason. They either have no interest, don't think the cost warrants them attending something they possibly won't enjoy, may have problems getting to or from a track because of poor or non-existent public transport, or whatever has kept them away in the past.

 

What I don't see is how the never been bothered type is a better bet to attend speedway in future than somebody who is just off the sport at the moment.

 

It would be interested to hear what the 'right changes' you would like actually are. If truth were told, I suspect I would support all of them.

 

The only difference between us is I don't let stupid rules, corrupt practices and selfish promoters put me off going anywhere (the only thing that does are crap track surfaces).

 

While I think you should most certainly be listened to, if the changes you want are not brought into effect then I'd say it would be a no brainer to chase a never been bothered instead, wouldn't you ?

[oldace]

It would be interested to hear what the 'right changes' you would like actually are. If truth were told, I suspect I would support all of them.

 

The only difference between us is I don't let stupid rules, corrupt practices and selfish promoters put me off going anywhere (the only thing that does are crap track surfaces).

 

While I think you should most certainly be listened to, if the changes you want are not brought into effect then I'd say it would be a no brainer to chase a never been bothered instead, wouldn't you ?

 

If a customer spends a pound he/she wants goods/entertainment to the value of a pound. In simple terms value for money.

 

Speedway is miles away from that