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DAVID CARR |
Weblog: What do you mean the Wi-Fi doesn't work? The life of a Racing Post reporter
No use crying over spilt contracts
Many an eye still had a tear in it at Haydock today over the BBC's imminent departure from racing.
This place used to be one of the corporation's mainstays and was beamed to millions of homes down the years.
But Stephen Stills had it right back in 1970 - If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with.
That was in the age of wall-to-wall racing on television, with John Rickman doffing his hat for the ITV 7.
But those days are no more likely to return than Crossroads, Sparks or Spangles.
The BBC may haveleft us with fond memories of Sir Peter 'you've never heard a reception like it at Liverpool' O'Sullevan and the rest but that's all they are now. Memories.
Those were the days. We thought they would never end. Well, they have.
Now is not the time for dwelling in the past - and there are reasons to be cheerful about the imminent takeover of all coverage by Channel 4 for even the biggest nostalgia fiend.
1) It's Channel 4, not 401. The 2005 Ashesseries was on 4 rather than the BBC yet it still drew enough viewers for Andrew Flintoff to be voted sports personality of the year.
After the 2009 showdown on Sky, much of the country would have struggled to pick the likes of Jonathan Trott
out in an identity parade. Remember, Kauto Star is still a household name despite appearing on the BBC about as often as Muffin the Mule recently.
2) 'Terrestrial' TV is going the way of the dinosaur, as is the viewer who turns their set on to BBC1 and never switches.
We'll all be digital soon and my five-year-old daughter Rosa, who learnt the channel numbers for CBBC and Nick jnr before she could count, is the future.
Racing'sposition on the dial - or rather the EPG - is less important than its being free to air.
3) For all that one or two of its presenters may not be to everyone's taste, Channel 4 covers racing with an undeniable zest and an enthusiasm for technological innovation.
4) Fashion 'experts' and court correspondents are less likely to intrude on Royal Ascot, which might actually end up being promoted as the best five-day Flat meeting in the world. Which it is.
5) Switching more high-profile races to Channel 4 will increase audience exposure to callers such as Richard Hoiles and Stewart Machin, whose ego-free, down-to-earthness should not disguise their tremendous ability behind the mic.
6) The BBC's slow walk away from our sport should show even the most diehard stick-in-the-muds why Rod Street and Racing For Change are attempting to drag us into the 21st century.
Complacency is not an option when our profile is notenough to keep the country's major broadcaster involved.
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