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Bryce

BBC Sports Personality Stitch Up

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I was just listening to a Doctor Who podcast in which a Michael Grade interview was being discussed. As part of the discussion he was asked about how vociferous Doctor Who fans could be. He was quoted as saying that they were the most involved apart from the speedway lobby. He said that in the 80s they regularly had to fudge the vote results for SPOTY because otherwise a speedway rider would win every year. So the head of BBC 1 in the 80s has confirmed speedway was deliberately sidelined.

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It’s a WOW for that statement, but there again shouldn’t be too surprised, seems these telephone voting for whatever are often considered rigged, which makes a mockery of it all.

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40 minutes ago, Bryce said:

I was just listening to a Doctor Who podcast in which a Michael Grade interview was being discussed. As part of the discussion he was asked about how vociferous Doctor Who fans could be. He was quoted as saying that they were the most involved apart from the speedway lobby. He said that in the 80s they regularly had to fudge the vote results for SPOTY because otherwise a speedway rider would win every year. So the head of BBC 1 in the 80s has confirmed speedway was deliberately sidelined.

...Interesting story but not surprising. I stopped watching that debacle many, many years ago...I guess that it's that time of year again when it's about to appear on our screens!

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2 hours ago, Bryce said:

I was just listening to a Doctor Who podcast in which a Michael Grade interview was being discussed. As part of the discussion he was asked about how vociferous Doctor Who fans could be. He was quoted as saying that they were the most involved apart from the speedway lobby. He said that in the 80s they regularly had to fudge the vote results for SPOTY because otherwise a speedway rider would win every year. So the head of BBC 1 in the 80s has confirmed speedway was deliberately sidelined.

The beeb just didn't get speedway, often having a posh gentleman on commentary on the very rare occasions it was on which was more alined to all the other sports they covered. Just didn't seem right for speedway.

The thing is, these sort of cheats by SPOTY to keep speedway out of the limelight possibly caused all sorts of damage in attracting new fans. Then it prevents the question, just what is the programme all about, when it has to dodge votes for certain sports.

I recall sitting through the snoozefest, the last time about 1980 during England's Grand Slam,  just hoping to catch a five-second glimpse of a speedway rider in many a show usually a horse would be paraded on as a sporting personality.

Now I think it should be replaced by a programme looking at where all the personalities in sport have gone. 

It'll end up one day soon going the same way as Top Of The Pops.

Edited by moxey63
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SPOTY has always been rigged. I have heard from a reliable source that there was a successful campaign to get Justin Fashanu in the winners circle. The Beeb quashed the results that year of course, and he never received the winners trophy. RIP Justin 

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Typical BBC elitist(Grade et al)-I feel sorry that you Brits are forced to buy TV licenses to support that crap channel. If a political party promised to drop the TV license tax -I reckon they would win in a heartbeat. Recently dropped BBC World News from my TV package here in Canada because it is so clearly left wing biased as to be unbalanced and I refused to buy it.. Only people who would lose out if BBC was voluntarily supported would be all the Oxbridge luvvies who would be unemployed and would finally have to work for a living!!

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6 hours ago, BOBBATH said:

Typical BBC elitist(Grade et al)-I feel sorry that you Brits are forced to buy TV licenses to support that crap channel. If a political party promised to drop the TV license tax -I reckon they would win in a heartbeat. Recently dropped BBC World News from my TV package here in Canada because it is so clearly left wing biased as to be unbalanced and I refused to buy it.. Only people who would lose out if BBC was voluntarily supported would be all the Oxbridge luvvies who would be unemployed and would finally have to work for a living!!

...Despite it's many failings I'd personally rather watch the BBC than many of the commercial stations that continually, and at great regularity, ram adverts than one's throat. The number of times I've ceased to watch a programme on ITV or any of the 'free view' stations because of banal interruptions... and before anyone asks I don't have a playback facility preferring to watch my vast collection of DVDs instead as TV I generally find rather mundane nowadays especially when inundated with sport events that saturate the listings!

Edited by steve roberts
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Left wing bias, BOBBATH!? I don't think Jeremy Corbyn would agree with you there, nor most of the Labour Party. 

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On ‎9‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 1:40 PM, norbold said:

I can never understand why some political party doesn't make an election commitment to eliminate the license fee-despite upsetting the luvvies no end, bet most people would vote for it and they'd be elected. Last time  this was suggested I think it was The Monster Raving Loonie Party headed by Screamin' Lord Sutch (R.I.P). Dave Sutch was a great character, I recall him asking the question "Why is there only one Monopolies Commission?"

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45 minutes ago, BOBBATH said:

I can never understand why some political party doesn't make an election commitment to eliminate the license fee-despite upsetting the luvvies no end, bet most people would vote for it and they'd be elected. Last time  this was suggested I think it was The Monster Raving Loonie Party headed by Screamin' Lord Sutch (R.I.P). Dave Sutch was a great character, I recall him asking the question "Why is there only one Monopolies Commission?"

The Monster Loony Party suggested it and got what percentage of the vote?Kinda own goal there I guess lol

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Big shake up for SPOTY this year with only 6 nominees. Names not being revealed until the programme goes live with public vote then open for approximately one hour.

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I don't know why so much kudos is given to BBC Sports Personality of the Year. It hasn't meant a lot for many years now.

There was a time when anyone could vote for whoever they wanted - although it seems that even that was filtered anyway.

These days it means little more than winning I'm a Celebrity or Strictly Come Dancing. Just an evening phone vote - which has now, apparently, been made even more of a closed shop to ensure they get who they want.

As soon as it became like REality TV it became pretty pointless really.

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