KevH Posted February 1, 2017 Report Share Posted February 1, 2017 I think Sky will dump British domestic speedway when the current deal ends.. None of the Sky dosh improved the product.. No major company seems to be interested in sponsoring the sport, only hope is for ITV or BT Sport picks it up, even a highlights package would do, and that would give the sport a bit of a boost.. In my opinion a 'highlights' programme on BT Sports would be a major step backwards and certainly not a boost as you suggest. Currently domestic speedway can be watched most weeks (during the season) on the (by far) most popular viewing platform (Sky). A switch to the minority (BT) platform and a move away from live meetings would actually be media suicide. Having said that, it's not like British Speedway will have the option of choosing.........they will just have to take what they can get...........but I would suggest that the financial benefits of whatever that may be should be shared exclusively within the speedway community and not shared with a third party as it currently is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 1, 2017 Report Share Posted February 1, 2017 (edited) In my opinion a 'highlights' programme on BT Sports would be a major step backwards and certainly not a boost as you suggest. Currently domestic speedway can be watched most weeks (during the season) on the (by far) most popular viewing platform (Sky). A switch to the minority (BT) platform and a move away from live meetings would actually be media suicide. Sky is currently the most-viewed pay-TV platform but BT Sport can be watched on that platform, admittedly for an extra fee. Again, all Sky Sports and BT Sport channels are available on the Virgin Media platform. The BT platform itself may be minor but it is far from being the only way to watch BT Sport. BT is a growing force and one that is steadily building its sports portfolio, having recently added test cricket and tennis for example and Rugby Union appears to thrive on the channel. Recent FA Cup ties on BT Sport were in the 500,000-800,000 viewer bracket, which for pay-TV is quite acceptable, compared to 3.5-5m on BBC One for theirs on their universally-available service. Obviously people who already pay far too much to Sky to subsidise the luxury lifestyle of footballers (who struggle to play twice a week apparently), and their ever-needy agents will not be happy at having to pay again for BT but for those who do not need a constant football overkill and want to watch the sports that BT cover then the choice is obvious - instead of adding BT Sport, use it to replace Sky Sports. It can be done! Despite the black propaganda spread by Sky about their rival, BT offers a high quality sports service, as reflected in the excellence of Natalie Quirk's handling of the studio side of the GPs and is likely to become a highly competitive alternative to Sky. Sky have vastly overpaid for football rights and there may well be a squeeze now on sports that are underperforming on their channels. It is clear how their commitment has waned since the signing of the new deal with erratic scheduling and the disappearance of the extra innovative touches such as overhead cameras and the notorious 'mole cam'. Okay, some of those innovations won't be missed, but it does suggest to me a lessening of enthusiasm for the project. I remember hearing recently (Chapman's Facebook interview?) that it was Sky who had prevented the BSPA dropping the 'Elite League' tag some time ago. If so I wonder if the new branding has been met negatively by Sky? If Sky coverage is over and if a way can be found to switch to BT I would suspect a drop in TV match revenue will result but otherwise I'd say that a move to a growing, high-quality service may not be the disaster that some would want you to believe it would be, especially if there is no other choice and assuming you do want British racing to be televised rather than hold the rather short-sighted hope that it would magically turn home viewers into clicks on turnstiles if it wasn't. A switch to BT to coincide with the revamped structure of British Speedway (and just how fundamental the switch to two leagues that are effectively Premier League Division 1 & 2 seems not to have been noticed by many) could be just the step forward that the sport needs. Of course this all presumes that Sky don't want to continue and BT might be interested. I have no inside information but I do have a pretty good understanding of how the industry works, not just through personal experience but a long-term study of the subject. Obviously I can't match 'flagrag's' current personal knowledge but I have had BT Sport since launch and am very impressed at its progress, and the quality of its product, especially studio discussions - more brain, less mouth ;-) (Okay, except Robbie Savage...) Edited February 1, 2017 by rmc 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Connor Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 I agree with Kevh about the 3rd party How ever much the Russell's take out of the deal is money out of the sport. Could a member of the bspa not negotiate the tv contracts without the use of a 3rd party. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reliant Robin Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 I agree with Kevh about the 3rd party How ever much the Russell's take out of the deal is money out of the sport. Could a member of the bspa not negotiate the tv contracts without the use of a 3rd party. I've seen it mentioned by those that are likely to know, that without the Russell's then the current deal wouldn't have been put in place and the sport would not be televised in this country (as was the case before Russell took up the challenge). To that end I would suggest 80-90% of a million is a lot better to BSPA than 100% of £0 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Connor Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 So how did it all come about then? what are their links with sky and what should happen if go speed was to cease/sell. Having a big contract like that dependant on 1 outside party seems a bit curious. Does go speed have any other sports they deal with as well? Are their other similar companies should anything happen to the Russels I don't know how these things work but it seems like a nice little cozy job! 1ce your foot is in the door and you have the 1st contract Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 (edited) So how did it all come about then? what are their links with sky and what should happen if go speed was to cease/sell. Having a big contract like that dependant on 1 outside party seems a bit curious. Does go speed have any other sports they deal with as well? Are their other similar companies should anything happen to the Russels I don't know how these things work but it seems like a nice little cozy job! 1ce your foot is in the door and you have the 1st contract I would expect Go Speed approached Sky and negotiated an initial deal then negotiated further deals as each one expired. It sounds simple but I expect in reality the negotiations were far from straightforward, especially in view of the sums involved. The BSPA had a standard offer to anyone years back - find a sponsor and get a commission. I expect the same applied to the Sky deal later. It was an open invitation - even I received it. Sadly that wasn't my area of expertise. It's a long time ago now but in the 80s I was on the other side of the situation when Screen Sport were dealing with the BSPA. It wasn't easy and I suspect if we hadn't been speedway supporters ourselves the deal would never have gone through. Equally, incidents afterwards and the BSPA's failure to carry out their side of the deal in a professional manner(*) would probably have seen the deal terminated. It would not surprise me if the problem for Go Speed, and where they earned their commission would have been in keeping the BSPA in line more than Sky. I do hope attitudes have improved and I'm sure they have but I do expect Go Speed have actually had to earn their money. Anyway, there's a lot of supposition there and I could be totally off-beam but I feel I should try to give some possible insight into what goes on. (* The deal required the promoters to provide adequate camera platforms - they were usually a couple of planks balanced on a couple of barrels). Anyway, I've said my piece and it's time to return to the safety (and sanity) of 'read-only' status. I hope I've helped people to understand the realities of what is a far more complex situation than many would expect. Edited February 2, 2017 by rmc 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaboy279 Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 I ve said it before and will say it again. But if sky had thier man cameras situated on the backstraight. The bulk of the crowd in the main stand would be more visable. The way they film atm even a british final at Monmore during the racing it appears no one is watching. I ve said it before and will say it again. But if sky had thier man cameras situated on the backstraight. The bulk of the crowd in the main stand would be more visable. The way they film atm even a british final at Monmore during the racing it appears no one is watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveLyric2 Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 (edited) I ve said it before and will say it again. But if sky had thier man cameras situated on the backstraight. The bulk of the crowd in the main stand would be more visable. The way they film atm even a british final at Monmore during the racing it appears no one is watching. I ve said it before and will say it again. But if sky had thier man cameras situated on the backstraight. The bulk of the crowd in the main stand would be more visable. The way they film atm even a british final at Monmore during the racing it appears no one is watching. It must be different at various clubs. At Poole there is usually a camera position at the end of the back straight (Bend 3) at the start of the home straight (Bend 4), by the start line, above the main grandstand, plus others. The 'studio' is on the 1st Bend. Viewers can often see the packed grandstand from the Bend 3 and startline cameras Edited February 5, 2017 by Skidder1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 (edited) Okay, one more comment. It's the first bend camera that has the best chance to show the crowd. Normally used to zoom in on the start a wider angle on subsequent laps can then show the crowd, except.....would you want to given the sparse numbers at some tracks on TV night? Much depends on whether the director considers his role to be televising a sports event or making an advertisement. It's not a new problem. The only negative comment we had for our Screen Sport work at the station was "Where's the crowd?" - over thirty years ago. We tried to counter this by using the odd wide shot from that first bend camera, but as I said before, most of us were fans desperate to help the sport we loved. Edited February 5, 2017 by rmc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waytogo28 Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 Is it a "farewell tour" then this year with Pearson & Tatum going round various clubs doing their stuff but with no Sky broadcasting for the 2017 season? When will we get to know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePark Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 Is it a "farewell tour" then this year with Pearson & Tatum going round various clubs doing their stuff but with no Sky broadcasting for the 2017 season? When will we get to know? Copied and Pasted from the Daily Mail web page under the story "Sky Sports vs BT Sport: As the broadcast rights battle intensifies we bring you the full guide to who will be showing which sports" MOTORSPORT Sky Sports hold the rights to show live coverage from every Formula One race of the calendar until 2018 as well as GP2, GP3 and Elite League Speedway. The only slightly worrying thing is, the story is from August 2015! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 Copied and Pasted from the Daily Mail web page under the story "Sky Sports vs BT Sport: As the broadcast rights battle intensifies we bring you the full guide to who will be showing which sports" MOTORSPORT Sky Sports hold the rights to show live coverage from every Formula One race of the calendar until 2018 as well as GP2, GP3 and Elite League Speedway. The only slightly worrying thing is, the story is from August 2015! ................ and what was that story please? :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePark Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 ................ and what was that story please? :unsure: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-3209003/Sky-Sports-vs-BT-Sport-broadcast-rights-battle-intensifies-bring-guide-showing-sports.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-3209003/Sky-Sports-vs-BT-Sport-broadcast-rights-battle-intensifies-bring-guide-showing-sports.html Thank you Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waytogo28 Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 Reading that 2015 story over TV rights does help speedway fans to get it into perspective that speedway is very much a tiny minority niche sport as it just crept in before darts and snooker ( both of which generate more money as a "sport" than speedway ). I will be amazed and pleased if there is Sky coverage of the 2017 speedway season but doubt very much if a renewal of the contract beyond then is being seriously considered by Sky or BT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 It would be sad if TV coverage of the Premier league was to cease this year, but I have concerns at the end of 2018 whether the speedway GP's will be on TV, currently BT. I think MotoGP is safe because of its support, but speedway continuing could be a bit iffy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted February 7, 2017 Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 It would be sad if TV coverage of the Premier league was to cease this year, but I have concerns at the end of 2018 whether the speedway GP's will be on TV, currently BT. I think MotoGP is safe because of its support, but speedway continuing could be a bit iffy. I hope you are wrong on this OveFundinFan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_martin Posted February 26, 2017 Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 (edited) With today's announcement about the demise of Coventry Bees, where does this now leave the sport? I read that the SkySports contract requires 8 competing teams. Well the BSPA's actions now make that contract teetering on the edge, doesn't it? So if one more club folds and Sky walk away from the contract, and the teams get no coverage and sponsorship money from Sky, what will be the domino effect from this on the rest of the teams in the top leagues? Edited February 26, 2017 by uk martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 26, 2017 Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 With today's announcement about the demise of Coventry Bees, where does this now leave the sport? I read that the SkySports contract requires 8 competing teams. Well the BSPA's actions now make that contract null and void, doesn't it? So if Sky walk away from the contract, and the teams get no coverage and sponsorship money from Sky, what will be the domino effect from this on the rest of the teams in the top leagues? Sad news indeed. Closure of yet another iconic stadium. Personally I can't see how speedway can survive in anything like it's present format at this rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted February 26, 2017 Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 Worst News in a long time this. One of the most famous Tracks in Speedway closing down. Coventry 'Bees' are a great part of Speedway's history. Let us all indeed hope that this is temporary - but it is far easier to close a Track than to open, or even reopen one. My sympathies here are with the Supporters - I know what it is like - I lost my Track too. It was intimated that Speedway would return to Sunderland after about nine Meetings in 1964. It never happened - until 1971. I sincerely hope that Coventry will come back again - but - I suppose we must wait and see. Very, very sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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