TV technology has seldom been used to better effect than in the BBC's current coverage of the Open Championship.
Replays in the new hi motion system, which provides a very slow replay while retaining the finest detail, of Tom Watson's swing demonstrate the key to successful golf in a way that mere words have never been able to emulate. Seeing the rock-steady positioning of the head while the rest of the body appears to rotate is to understand exactly what a succession of golf pro's have tried, and in this writer's case, failed to explain over a long period of time.
TV technology is brilliant when used appropriately. Sky's coverage of the Test is using the hotspot device which demonstrates precisely where the ball strikes - bat, pad, body. Again, this adds a lot to the viewer's appreciation.
Golf and cricket are ideal for this approach. There is time for the analysts to do their work while nothing is happening on the field. It doesn't work so well in fast-paced sports like football and rugby league where over-indulgence in video analysis occasionally means live action is missed.
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
SKY'S THE WINNER - FOR NOW
There's no doubt that the real winner in the ESPN takeover of Setanta's UK rights is Sky. Where will viewers access ESPN's matches next season? Via the Sky platform. Who will produce the match coverage for ESPN? Sky Sports. This is surely not the outcome that the European Commission was looking for when it tried to enforce elements of competition in the sports rights market.
But maybe Sky should not brag too loud or too long. ESPN plans to use its new foothold in the UK market to introduce a load of American TV sport which we don't have. It will not stop with football. And as part of the Disney organisation, ESPN has resources that Setanta could only dream about. When the next round of bidding for Premier League bundles comes along, Sky will face a much tougher opponent.
But maybe Sky should not brag too loud or too long. ESPN plans to use its new foothold in the UK market to introduce a load of American TV sport which we don't have. It will not stop with football. And as part of the Disney organisation, ESPN has resources that Setanta could only dream about. When the next round of bidding for Premier League bundles comes along, Sky will face a much tougher opponent.
Monday, 13 July 2009
SETANTA: BUST BUT NOT BUST
I've been away for a couple of weeks. Since my last update Setanta UK has folded. I received a document from the receivers inviting me to submit details of the money I am still owed. I haven't bothered to fill it in. As an unsecured creditor I will receive nothing and the amount I'm owed by Setanta UK is fortunately not that much. The following day, bizarrely, I received two cheques from Setanta. The cheques were both from Setanta Ireland which is still in business. Setanta Ireland has always been my main client - it's their producer in Dublin who assigns me matches and it's they who pay the majority of my fee and all my expenses. Because I've been abroad in Greece and Canada I couldn't pay the cheques into my account until today so I wait to see if they are of the rubber variety!
Thursday, 18 June 2009
FREELANCE FLUTTERS
The problem with being a freelance in a volatile world like sports broadcasting is that your employment often depends on circumstances completely beyond your control.
At the moment two of my main clients are under pressure. Setanta has been through a well-publicised financial crisis and is not safe yet. If a proposed takeover by a Russian billionaire named Lev Blavatnik fails, then Setanta could well fold. This would leave me needing to find a new organistion to work for in the next football season, and the money Setanta still owe me for work in season 2008-09 will never find its way into my bank account.
Meanwhile Manx Radio's contract to cover the motorbike TT races ends this year. A rival radio station, Energy FM, has announced it will put in a bid for the new contract, to be decided by the Isle of Man Government. I've been Manx Radio's main commentator for six years, but there is no guarantee that I'd be retained by a different broadcaster.
I'm watching developments with keen interest!
At the moment two of my main clients are under pressure. Setanta has been through a well-publicised financial crisis and is not safe yet. If a proposed takeover by a Russian billionaire named Lev Blavatnik fails, then Setanta could well fold. This would leave me needing to find a new organistion to work for in the next football season, and the money Setanta still owe me for work in season 2008-09 will never find its way into my bank account.
Meanwhile Manx Radio's contract to cover the motorbike TT races ends this year. A rival radio station, Energy FM, has announced it will put in a bid for the new contract, to be decided by the Isle of Man Government. I've been Manx Radio's main commentator for six years, but there is no guarantee that I'd be retained by a different broadcaster.
I'm watching developments with keen interest!
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
HIGH SPEED, LOW MOMENTS
I'm back in what passes for the real world after two weeks on that other planet known as the TT.
It's hard to know where to start summing it up having commentated on one race in which one competitor lost his life and another in which we all thought at least one, and probably two, had also died. When footballers talk about "laying their bodies on the line" they really have no idea what they are talking about.
John Crellin was a man who loved a challenge - the tougher the better. Several years ago I produced a package about him for BBC TV. No-one else has climbed the toughest mountains in the world and raced the toughest motorbike race in the world. This year, John made his third attempt to conquer Everest, only to be beaten back by illness which required hospital treatment. Undaunted, several weeks later, he rode in the TT.
On Friday, I called him home as he finished third in a unique event, the first TT for zero-emissions motorbikes (http://www.ttxgp.com/) . It was his first podium finish. Later that day, in the Senior TT, John apparently lost control of his bike on the mountain section of the course and was killed.
Two days earlier, in the second of the Sidecar TTs, I was describing an exciting race in which local driver Nicky Crowe and his passenger Mark Cox were duelling with an all-Manx duo, Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle. I described their progress as they left the start line and then, for the remainder of the 37.75 mile course I had to rely on fellow commentators and computer screens to update me on the action.
Maurice Mawdsley, Radio TT's commentator at the Glen Helen section, saw them go past and the computer screens ticked up their progress as they continued. Then, the screen for the Ramsey section remained ominously blank when the producer's stopwatch suggested that it was time the leaders were there. That is not an unfamiliar phenomenon. In the commentary box, we know exactly when a rider is due to reach any given point so when their data doesn't appear we know something is wrong. It's a question of how badly wrong.
This time there was a silence which seemed to go on for ever. There was no information from Race Control. Then Molyneux and Sayle reached Ramsey, but later than expected. They had clearly had to slow down. Then one of our screens, which charts retirements, updated with the information that Nicky and Mark had retired at Ballacob, on the approach to the famous bridge at Ballaugh. No further information. Then we saw a marshal in front of us at the Grandstand pick up the red flag, which is used as an emergency stop to the race. He kept the flag by him - there was no point in unfurling it; there were no riders active in our part of the track. Then Roy Moore, our commentator at Ramsey, live on air, spotted a marshal showing the red flag as the outfits went by. The race was stopped.
Back in the Grandstand, I had to hold the fort while confusion reigned. Clearly, there had been a very serious incident. Probably, it involved Nicky and Mark - but we didn't know for sure. I was aware that every listener was desperate for news but there was none to give them. And the worst thing to do was to speculate. That would only make things worse. All I could do was repeat what we knew, which was not a great deal.
Then the unofficial reports began to come in. The first, which appeared to be reputable, told us that paramedics were treating Mark but Nicky had been left in the road. That sounded as if Nicky had been given up for lost. It was a horrible moment. The commentary box - which usually contains seven or eight people - went totally quiet. Only a couple of hours earlier I had been chatting to Mark in the team's paddock HQ. Steve Plater, one of the top solo riders, had popped in to give him and Nicky some swank sunglasses. The news from Ballacob was no more than rumour and I could not repeat any of it. I had to carry on playing the straight bat.
Next Maurice buzzed through from Glen Helen to say that he had been told that the lads had hit a rabbit which caused Nicky to lose control. Then someone else came in to say the two boys were sitting up and thanking the marshals for looking after them. It was totally confusing and utterly depressing, and all the time I had to carry on telling the audience that there was no definite news. Which was the truth. We knew they were being helicoptered to hospital. From my vantage point high in the tower, using binoculars, I could see the helicopter landing pad and I saw the chopper descend and two ambulances make the short journey from the pad to the main building.
We wrapped the OB (Outside Broadcast) early and I handed back to the studio without ceremony. Later we learned that the two lads were both alive but in a serious condition. Since then, Nicky has been transferred to England with multiple fractures to arms and legs. Mark is due to be transferred to Liverpool later this week.
I can only wish them and their families God speed in their recoveries. They are both great lads and brilliant sportsmen. When it comes to taking sporting commitment to the very edge they, and John Crellin, leave most other so-called tough guys a long, long way behind.
It's hard to know where to start summing it up having commentated on one race in which one competitor lost his life and another in which we all thought at least one, and probably two, had also died. When footballers talk about "laying their bodies on the line" they really have no idea what they are talking about.
John Crellin was a man who loved a challenge - the tougher the better. Several years ago I produced a package about him for BBC TV. No-one else has climbed the toughest mountains in the world and raced the toughest motorbike race in the world. This year, John made his third attempt to conquer Everest, only to be beaten back by illness which required hospital treatment. Undaunted, several weeks later, he rode in the TT.
On Friday, I called him home as he finished third in a unique event, the first TT for zero-emissions motorbikes (http://www.ttxgp.com/) . It was his first podium finish. Later that day, in the Senior TT, John apparently lost control of his bike on the mountain section of the course and was killed.
Two days earlier, in the second of the Sidecar TTs, I was describing an exciting race in which local driver Nicky Crowe and his passenger Mark Cox were duelling with an all-Manx duo, Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle. I described their progress as they left the start line and then, for the remainder of the 37.75 mile course I had to rely on fellow commentators and computer screens to update me on the action.
Maurice Mawdsley, Radio TT's commentator at the Glen Helen section, saw them go past and the computer screens ticked up their progress as they continued. Then, the screen for the Ramsey section remained ominously blank when the producer's stopwatch suggested that it was time the leaders were there. That is not an unfamiliar phenomenon. In the commentary box, we know exactly when a rider is due to reach any given point so when their data doesn't appear we know something is wrong. It's a question of how badly wrong.
This time there was a silence which seemed to go on for ever. There was no information from Race Control. Then Molyneux and Sayle reached Ramsey, but later than expected. They had clearly had to slow down. Then one of our screens, which charts retirements, updated with the information that Nicky and Mark had retired at Ballacob, on the approach to the famous bridge at Ballaugh. No further information. Then we saw a marshal in front of us at the Grandstand pick up the red flag, which is used as an emergency stop to the race. He kept the flag by him - there was no point in unfurling it; there were no riders active in our part of the track. Then Roy Moore, our commentator at Ramsey, live on air, spotted a marshal showing the red flag as the outfits went by. The race was stopped.
Back in the Grandstand, I had to hold the fort while confusion reigned. Clearly, there had been a very serious incident. Probably, it involved Nicky and Mark - but we didn't know for sure. I was aware that every listener was desperate for news but there was none to give them. And the worst thing to do was to speculate. That would only make things worse. All I could do was repeat what we knew, which was not a great deal.
Then the unofficial reports began to come in. The first, which appeared to be reputable, told us that paramedics were treating Mark but Nicky had been left in the road. That sounded as if Nicky had been given up for lost. It was a horrible moment. The commentary box - which usually contains seven or eight people - went totally quiet. Only a couple of hours earlier I had been chatting to Mark in the team's paddock HQ. Steve Plater, one of the top solo riders, had popped in to give him and Nicky some swank sunglasses. The news from Ballacob was no more than rumour and I could not repeat any of it. I had to carry on playing the straight bat.
Next Maurice buzzed through from Glen Helen to say that he had been told that the lads had hit a rabbit which caused Nicky to lose control. Then someone else came in to say the two boys were sitting up and thanking the marshals for looking after them. It was totally confusing and utterly depressing, and all the time I had to carry on telling the audience that there was no definite news. Which was the truth. We knew they were being helicoptered to hospital. From my vantage point high in the tower, using binoculars, I could see the helicopter landing pad and I saw the chopper descend and two ambulances make the short journey from the pad to the main building.
We wrapped the OB (Outside Broadcast) early and I handed back to the studio without ceremony. Later we learned that the two lads were both alive but in a serious condition. Since then, Nicky has been transferred to England with multiple fractures to arms and legs. Mark is due to be transferred to Liverpool later this week.
I can only wish them and their families God speed in their recoveries. They are both great lads and brilliant sportsmen. When it comes to taking sporting commitment to the very edge they, and John Crellin, leave most other so-called tough guys a long, long way behind.
Monday, 8 June 2009
THE GOVERNOR AND THE GARLANDS
Well! That was a commentary with a difference!
I've done 6 and a half hours at the microphone, anchoring Radio TT's coverage of the delayed first day of racing. I'm accustomed to describing unexpected events in the sporting area - it's the nature of the beast - but today we had all manner of weird goings-on.
It started with the arrival of the Governor, who processed down the track in front of the Grandstand, escorted by two police motorcycle outriders. Unfortunately the police stopped in the wrong place. The official welcoming party was left fidgeting some 200 yards further down the road while no-one moved. It was left to the chauffeur of the Governor's car to jump out and tell the bobbies that they'd got it wrong before the little convoy set off again. It's part of my job to describe this ceremonial arrival and it was impossible to avoid telling the world that a sizeable cock-up was taking place. The reception committee, as I couldn't help remarking, was left looking like a jilted bride at the altar.
Then there was an unscheduled lap of the course by Philip McCallen, the former TT winner from Northern Ireland. None of us on the radio team had any idea that this was happening until McCallen appeared 45 minutes before the first race, leathered up and ready to go. I was furious about this because the one thing a host broadcaster requires is advance knowledge of anything which is likely to require live coverage. Amazingly, it turned out that not even the Clerk of the Course, the vastly-experienced Eddie Nelson, had been informed of this jape by Honda, the people who had arranged it. Honda are big players around here but in this instance they were pushing their luck.
The day was notable for the personal appearance of Valentino Rossi who was to garland the first three finishers in the Superbike TT. Again, it is my job to describe the ceremony. Total farce. I called on the crowd to acknowledge the third-placed man, Guy Martin, and nothing happened. It took minutes for someone to get the word to Valentino that he was supposed to pick up the garland and place it around Guy's neck. Eventually I was broadcasting instructions over the radio, piped through the course speakers, pleading with Guy to show Valentino what to do! I guess Rossi is more accustomed to receiving garlands than handing them out.
That would have been bad enough, but come the second race, the Sidecar TT, the same pantomime occurred again. This time it was a representative of the sponsors who seemed totally clueless when it came to performing the relatively simple task of placing garlands round the shoulders of successful sportsmen. It beggared belief and was totally embarrassing, as well as an insult to the riders. I can only hope the organisers will sort out their stage management before tomorrow. Otherwise it'll feel more like commentating on the Eurovision Song Contest.
The serious business of the day was professionally conducted. John McGuinness won the Superbike TT with a new outright course record, his 15th TT win, and Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle won the Sidecar race, Dave's 14th victory. They are both great sportsmen, superb performers on the big stage, and they at least let no-one down.
I've done 6 and a half hours at the microphone, anchoring Radio TT's coverage of the delayed first day of racing. I'm accustomed to describing unexpected events in the sporting area - it's the nature of the beast - but today we had all manner of weird goings-on.
It started with the arrival of the Governor, who processed down the track in front of the Grandstand, escorted by two police motorcycle outriders. Unfortunately the police stopped in the wrong place. The official welcoming party was left fidgeting some 200 yards further down the road while no-one moved. It was left to the chauffeur of the Governor's car to jump out and tell the bobbies that they'd got it wrong before the little convoy set off again. It's part of my job to describe this ceremonial arrival and it was impossible to avoid telling the world that a sizeable cock-up was taking place. The reception committee, as I couldn't help remarking, was left looking like a jilted bride at the altar.
Then there was an unscheduled lap of the course by Philip McCallen, the former TT winner from Northern Ireland. None of us on the radio team had any idea that this was happening until McCallen appeared 45 minutes before the first race, leathered up and ready to go. I was furious about this because the one thing a host broadcaster requires is advance knowledge of anything which is likely to require live coverage. Amazingly, it turned out that not even the Clerk of the Course, the vastly-experienced Eddie Nelson, had been informed of this jape by Honda, the people who had arranged it. Honda are big players around here but in this instance they were pushing their luck.
The day was notable for the personal appearance of Valentino Rossi who was to garland the first three finishers in the Superbike TT. Again, it is my job to describe the ceremony. Total farce. I called on the crowd to acknowledge the third-placed man, Guy Martin, and nothing happened. It took minutes for someone to get the word to Valentino that he was supposed to pick up the garland and place it around Guy's neck. Eventually I was broadcasting instructions over the radio, piped through the course speakers, pleading with Guy to show Valentino what to do! I guess Rossi is more accustomed to receiving garlands than handing them out.
That would have been bad enough, but come the second race, the Sidecar TT, the same pantomime occurred again. This time it was a representative of the sponsors who seemed totally clueless when it came to performing the relatively simple task of placing garlands round the shoulders of successful sportsmen. It beggared belief and was totally embarrassing, as well as an insult to the riders. I can only hope the organisers will sort out their stage management before tomorrow. Otherwise it'll feel more like commentating on the Eurovision Song Contest.
The serious business of the day was professionally conducted. John McGuinness won the Superbike TT with a new outright course record, his 15th TT win, and Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle won the Sidecar race, Dave's 14th victory. They are both great sportsmen, superb performers on the big stage, and they at least let no-one down.
Sunday, 7 June 2009
LATEST TT PLANS
Radio TT's plans have had more reshuffles than the Cabinet. After a weekend of postponements we will now go on air from the Grandstand at10am, building up to the first race which starts at 11 - the Superbike TT. Lots of things for me to talk about - it's Ian Lougher's 100th TT; the outcome is hard to predict with John McGuinness (Honda), Bruce Anstey (Suzuki), and Guy Martin (Honda) all having a genuine chance; William Dunlop is back at the TT
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