Positives and problems: takeaways from day one of a new era in broadcasting

Racing Post reporters reveal what they learned from the coverage on New Year's Day, which was a landmark occasion in the broadcasting of the sport. It was a busy day for Racing TV, which featured Irish action for the first time and broadcast six meetings, while Sky Sports Racing (formerly At The Races) made its debut with two fixtures.

• Busy days will, indeed, be a challenging logistical juggling act for Racing TV and its stable of tracks . . . but not until July 6 will it again have six afternoon fixtures to handle. It will also have three evening meetings on what is a bumper day for the channel but a blank one for Sky Sports Racing. Before that RTV has five evening meetings on the Friday of Royal Ascot, June 21.
  
  
• In all, RTV has another four six-meeting afternoons in 2019, including July 6, although the balance of fixtures towards Flat racing means there is a bit more time to play with.
  
  
• RTV will somehow have to cope with a whopping eight afternoon fixtures on December 26.
  
  
• Even the biggest meetings on RTV – Cheltenham on New Year’s Day being a case in point – will suffer in terms of pre-and-post-race analysis and interviews on hectic afternoons. However, RTV did have an analysis show after racing on New Year's Day that included post-race interviews.
  
  
• Irish racing appears set to play a secondary role in RTV schedules – interested parties will no doubt be keeping track of the number of Irish races being joined at halfway or caught up with via recording.
  
  
• Meetings on SSR – Chepstow, Chester and Doncaster especially – will benefit from less competition, while presenters at every meeting will bring quick-fire reaction to each race from connections.
  
  
• The SSR team seem keen to use their time before and between races to explain track configurations and other elements of racing – a good move.
  
  
• There will be a pressing need for television coverage to continue to form part of fixture list discussions in Ireland and Britain.
  
  
• It may be an idea for SSR and RTV to bury the hatchet – preferably not in anybody's back – and discuss the thorny issue of each being prepared to hold up the start of one race to accommodate the finish of another, which impacts on betting turnover. Such talks may have been held but there was no evidence of it on New Year's Day.
  
  
• There could be a case for a Racing TV2 channel, dedicated to Irish meetings, which would largely eradicate the need for split screens on RTV. Such a channel does already exist on digital platforms.
  
  
• High-definition pictures for the old At The Races stable of tracks (including the Irish races now on RTV) are a big plus.
  
  
• SSR is a lot more polished graphically than ATR and slow-motion replay shots of the final few strides of a race are are welcome addition. . . but slick new graphics will hopefully not come at the expense of the lighter touch ATR had, contrasting with Racing UK's rather more straight-laced reputation.

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