bruno Posted June 20, 2017 Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 Off on a tangent a bit but I swopped my broadband to BT mainly because of the deal on the speedway and because talktalk customer service is shocking. Changeover went smoothly and the speeds as good as talktalk. However,I got an email off talktalk saying my final bill was a credit of 20.19. Good so far, you would think they would automatic refund me but no, it's gone into my talktalk account and I have to apply for it which I've done. I wonder how many don't bother or forget and all the refunds are sitting in talktalk accounts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted June 20, 2017 Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 Off on a tangent a bit but I swopped my broadband to BT mainly because of the deal on the speedway and because talktalk customer service is shocking. Changeover went smoothly and the speeds as good as talktalk. However,I got an email off talktalk saying my final bill was a credit of 20.19. Good so far, you would think they would automatic refund me but no, it's gone into my talktalk account and I have to apply for it which I've done. I wonder how many don't bother or forget and all the refunds are sitting in talktalk accounts Seems like a bit of sharp practice to me. If you had owed them £20.19 they would have been after you quick enough. No the wonder some Companies get a bad name. I am not thinking of changing my provider at present but if I was, I would avoid talktalk like the plague. Thanks for the tip Bruno. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Some of the folk on this thread had better smarten up, don't fret over how many cameras or who did the commentary, don't even compare the coverage to Sky. Just decide whether you want the sport on TV or not and then let the experts get on with managing their production and presentation over this first season. BT Sport love the GP series and dearly want the league coverage to be as well received and popular, that is what will encourage them to extend their interest beyond this season. I can tell you that the Sky production team started to believe some of the unfounded comments on this forum and whilst it will always be denied this forum is/was an indicator of some of the public opinion that did/can influence forthcoming decisions. I'm not suggesting anyone sugarcoats their comments but do keep them balanced. Pearson and Tatum ain't going anywhere soon so don't kill the constructive opinions on this thread with constant and facetious slagging of the duo. Philip makes the point about the budget - Sky eventually became like the Beeb and rocked up with lorry loads of cameras and equipment, catering trucks, a scanner full of bodies and it goes on but eventually their commitment to other sports meant huge cutbacks across the board. BT took this product at the 11th hour having already committed their budget elsewhere but felt it had to be given a decent shot and whilst it would have been financially easier to have a year out went with a proposal of shared and reduced costs to maintain continuity of broadcast presence so that a qualified decision could be made on any future commitment. Philip may reveal how it is funded, I won't, but it would be nice for them to understand if their risk is worthwhile or not. BT's operation is part funded by the BSPA. Viewing figures (which translates as more people paying for BT Sport and the internet) will determine what happens next year. Apparently the head of BT Sport (Simon Green) was at Belle Vue on Monday and was hopefully encouraged by what he saw. Pretty sure that his Sky equivalent, Barney Frances, never attended a speedway meeting, not even Cardiff. Viewing figures for the SGP are significantly up on BT Sport which suggest more people are taking the plunge now that both domestic and international speedway are available on the same channel. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waytogo28 Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 To me it was at least as good as the Sky coverage. At the British Final and for the GPs. I have long been a fan of Pearson and Tatum, they are not perfect but provide a good balance of the knowledgeable entertainer and the expert who has ridden at the highest level. I was surprised that the BT coverage started in mid June but it is very full from now until the end of the season. I sincerely hope that they maintain their coverage for next season and in the future. There are no other options and if fans do believe that broadcast TV is good for the sport, we should welcome them with open arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midland Red Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Knowledgeable entertainer? Who's that then? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waytogo28 Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Not Natalie nor Scott - the bloke who hasn't ridden a speedway bike at the highest level. He is knowledgeable about speedway even if he is not liked by all fans. We all see things differently and so polarised views emerge on every topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Not Natalie nor Scott - the bloke who hasn't ridden a speedway bike at the highest level. He is knowledgeable about speedway even if he is not liked by all fans. We all see things differently and so polarised views emerge on every topic. CONCUR with that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midland Red Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Not Natalie nor Scott - the bloke who hasn't ridden a speedway bike at the highest level. He is knowledgeable about speedway even if he is not liked by all fans. We all see things differently and so polarised views emerge on every topic. Entertainer???????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCB Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 One observation in addition. Occasionally slow to update riders positions during races. This is one of the things I picked up on during a heat. But as someone whos job it is to write the software for this kind of thing, I'm struggling to think of a good, resilient way of making this work quickly and correctly. Bearing in mind that the person operating will be a professional graphics operator and not a speedway fan. So they won't be that quick at noticing a position change and what happens when you have two riders battling side by side?! I have some ideas and I'm tempted to knock something up and over lay it during a meeting and see what I can come up with. I'm not suggesting anyone sugarcoats their comments but do keep them balanced. As someone who works in the industry, I'd be happy with the feedback so far. It's all simple things to change and I think the general feeling is they did a good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmauger Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 To be fair, many times I've been tearing my hair out (figuratively speaking) whilst watching motorsport as the cameras have followed the leader cruising around in their armchair reading a newspaper and eating sandwiches (!) and completely missed an exciting tussle is going on behind. Don't know if the BT Sport filming crew have covered speedway before but I'm sure the coverage will improve, first nite and all that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piotr Pyszny Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 (edited) The media should always exaggerate the positives and hide the negatives. Sorry, it isn't (and never has been) the media's job to be a cheerleader for speedway - or any other sport. The media should always be objective. Edited June 21, 2017 by Piotr Pyszny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 To be fair, many times I've been tearing my hair out (figuratively speaking) whilst watching motorsport as the cameras have followed the leader cruising around in their armchair reading a newspaper and eating sandwiches (!) and completely missed an exciting tussle is going on behind. Don't know if the BT Sport filming crew have covered speedway before but I'm sure the coverage will improve, first nite and all that.... MOST if not all have covered speedway before, working as freelances for Sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryW Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 This is one of the things I picked up on during a heat. But as someone whos job it is to write the software for this kind of thing, I'm struggling to think of a good, resilient way of making this work quickly and correctly. Bearing in mind that the person operating will be a professional graphics operator and not a speedway fan. So they won't be that quick at noticing a position change and what happens when you have two riders battling side by side?Get transponders on the bikes. That would be a good start! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Seems like a bit of sharp practice to me. If you had owed them £20.19 they would have been after you quick enough. No the wonder some Companies get a bad name. I am not thinking of changing my provider at present but if I was, I would avoid talktalk like the plague. Thanks for the tip Bruno. That's ok twk but still no refund yet, how long does it take in this day and age. Keep away from talktalk folks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 (edited) To be fair and balance the situation, I was with TalkTalk for 2 consecutive contracts and didnt have any problem with them. Waiting to transfer to BT and having loads of problems - which may be more down to Openreach rather then BT Edited June 21, 2017 by OveFundinFan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flagrag Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Overall I thought it was good considering the budget that was involved for BT coverage compared to Sky's previous productions. as others whom have or are involved in TV production it could be seen on screen. Many of cameraman used will have done Speedway before for Sky and Eurosport/BSI but they can only work with the equipment provided the same for the graphics wasn't so much the design it would have been the play out system used. Just to clear something for Mr Rising about Sky executives visiting Speedway, Barney Francis has attended a couple of meetings before as has his deputy Darren Long down at Poole and Coventry. The great late Vic Wakeling was very much a fan of Speedway and he often used to ask me about it and he was the one that pushed to try and get weekly magazine style show With regards to next season let's see what happens with the tv meetings this year and how the viewing figures are. The door is definitely not welded shut for Speedway at Sky even more so for 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 With regards to next season let's see what happens with the tv meetings this year and how the viewing figures are. The door is definitely not welded shut for Speedway at Sky even more so for 2018 If speedway bounces from one contractor to another then that could kill the sport as much as what else is going on. I am prepared to pay to watch speedway on TV but would find it very difficult having to change say from BT one tear to Sky the next and whoever else for the third year. Different lengths of contract, different equipment etc all add to the costs for a viewer and I can easily imagine the situation when enough is enough. What I need is continuity, football has fixed term contracts, so will other sports - Moto GP has a 3 year contract and so on. For speedway to start jumping from one to the other each year is a no from me. Its now took me 4 months of a year to change from Sky to BT, and its not complete yet. I for one could be lost to speedway for good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BangerBoy Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 The commentators picked up in the heat when two riders caused a rerun that the two innocent riders went straight back to the tapes, the two guilty ones stopped at the pit gate to be attended to by pit crew. Keep the pit gates closed for straightforward tape infringements. Easy decision to make. Whose call is it to open the pit gates??? Gag him. I too have missed on a recording the a final because the meeting had run over schedule. Very annoying. Did these offenders touch the tapes if not why stop the race? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Touch the tapes and your excluded - no exclusions so no one excluded. Move and the referee has the choice of judging an unfair start so all riders called back Discussion on here seems to imply the ref can give a moving rider a warning - which it seems he did during Mondays meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midland Red Posted June 21, 2017 Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 no exclusions so no one excluded. That's cleared it up, then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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