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bluebee

Programme content

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Although I always buy a programme at meetings I rarely read them on the day of the match as I like to concentrate on the meeting and the company.  I'll read them later in the week usually. But after reading Oxford's programme  today i started to ponder on what poor value official programmes generally  are. The articles by the various contributors s all seem to cover the same issues and state similar opinions.  In the Oxford programme there was comment on Luke Killen's debut by four columnists and Aaron Summer's comeback was covered multiple times. Sure, there's a years gone by section and a  biographies of the visitors but the team discussion pieces all regurgitate the same topics and points. When I buy a magazine I like to read different things - and yes it was good to read about these riders but not in every comment piece, Am I just unlucky in the teams I have supported or are there good programmes out there with varied content. I would think there might be an opportunity for a bit of humour somewhere in the pages for example, or even a bit of technical stuff for those inclined. Perhaps there could be some discussion between the contributors about what each one is going to cover before going to press. I'm not just picking on Oxford as I think the management have generally done a very good job and my criticism applies to many other programmes I've bought before. Just like to know what others think.

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33 minutes ago, bluebee said:

Although I always buy a programme at meetings I rarely read them on the day of the match as I like to concentrate on the meeting and the company.  I'll read them later in the week usually. But after reading Oxford's programme  today i started to ponder on what poor value official programmes generally  are. The articles by the various contributors s all seem to cover the same issues and state similar opinions.  In the Oxford programme there was comment on Luke Killen's debut by four columnists and Aaron Summer's comeback was covered multiple times. Sure, there's a years gone by section and a  biographies of the visitors but the team discussion pieces all regurgitate the same topics and points. When I buy a magazine I like to read different things - and yes it was good to read about these riders but not in every comment piece, Am I just unlucky in the teams I have supported or are there good programmes out there with varied content. I would think there might be an opportunity for a bit of humour somewhere in the pages for example, or even a bit of technical stuff for those inclined. Perhaps there could be some discussion between the contributors about what each one is going to cover before going to press. I'm not just picking on Oxford as I think the management have generally done a very good job and my criticism applies to many other programmes I've bought before. Just like to know what others think.

They were probably all written by the same person under different names :)

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Really,you only need an A4 sheet with the scorecard on one side,and fixtures and announcements on the other,given free with your admission,or 50p to cover the printing..Everything else you should be able to find on your clubs website.

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4 minutes ago, racers and royals said:

They were probably all written by the same person under different names :)

I'm guessing Rob  may have ghosted the Schroek and/or Courtney pieces, but the others all come from real contributors.

I think the OP does have a point, four of the articles in the front half of the programme do cover similar ground (the exception being Rob's interview with Luke Killeen), but the back half contains no less than six original and distinctive articles, including a particularly punchy piece from Alan Bates.

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Just to reiterate I'm not getting at Oxford or holding up their programme as a particularly egregious example - I fully agree about Alan Bates's article as being well worth a read. It's just that reading the whole programme brought to  mind the general quality of the programmes I have read over the years at a number of clubs. They are one way of engaging with the fans and entertaining them and if they are not varied and lively it's an opportunity missed.  Wednesday was a really entertaining night at a revived club that seems to me to be making a really good effort to build up a fan base. It just that reading the programme later didn't carry that feelgood factor on afterwards.

And I like to buy a programme rather than just fill  an A4 sheet as I feel it's part of supporting the club.

Edited by bluebee
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12 minutes ago, bluebee said:

Just to reiterate I'm not getting at Oxford or holding up their programme as a particularly egregious example - I fully agree about Alan Bates's article as being well worth a read. It's just that reading the whole programme brought to  mind the general quality of the programmes I have read over the years at a number of clubs. They are one way of engaging with the fans and entertaining them and if they are not varied and lively it's an opportunity missed.  Wednesday was a really entertaining night at a revived club that seems to me to be making a really good effort to build up a fan base. It just that reading the programme later didn't carry that feelgood factor on afterwards.

And I like to buy a programme rather than just fill  an A4 sheet as I feel it's part of supporting the club.

I always bought a programme when I visited a speedway...an essential part of the overall experience in my opinion.

Edited by steve roberts
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I’ve no idea what today’s league programmes are like. Back in the 60’s they were 2 sheets of A4 folded in half to make 8 sides of anA5 programme with very little content. I always bought one though.

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Don't by a programme these days just print one on speedway generator 

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3 hours ago, customhouseregular said:

I’ve no idea what today’s league programmes are like. Back in the 60’s they were 2 sheets of A4 folded in half to make 8 sides of anA5 programme with very little content. I always bought one though.

Content from the CO was always excellent at The Hive

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7 hours ago, Midland Red said:

Content from the CO was always excellent at The Hive

John Berry's comments were often controversial and always worth a read as were many others around the country.

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Now this maybe divisive, but... If it was down to me I'd ban programmes! They kill what little atmosphere there is at Speedway, how many times do you see somebody near you, head down as soon as the race is finished filling their programme in while the winning rider is making a (sometimes rare) lap of honour, the programme  filler completely oblivious to the fact that the race winner is in front of them coming round for some glory! Sometimes you even see people filling their programmes in before a race is finished... in time to do what I really don't know, maybe to give the rider a clap and a cheer.

I used to be an avid programme buyer and filler inner, never used to read the content but just had one for the race card, then as technology progressed I moved on to printing my own race card, then finally a number of years back I did away with filling in a race card altogether and now just use a combination of Speedway Updates and listening to the PA system.

If I were to allow programmes to stay (for revenue reasons) I'd call them matchday magazines, keep the existing content and not provide a race card, encourage a bit of interaction with the meeting presenters... which also needs an overhaul, in my opinion the meeting presenters, and there should be more than one of them, should be discussing the meeting in between races, similar to a television broadcast and not a single presenter having a one way conversation with himself, wishing Betty a happy 103rd birthday or asking a young kid who their favourite rider is.

Edited by iainb
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Just to add a bit of balance, for many clubs especially those that rent their stadia, programme sales and advertising are a valuable and often only income source in addition to admissions and any sponsorship!

Even more important if the promotion don't benefit from any food/beverage or car park income!!

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Not bought a programme for decades. Used to get a free racecard, while Neil Machin ran Sheffield. Not prepared to pay for a programme. If promoters want more money from me, put on more matches.

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I've not bought a programme for at least 10 years and in the last three or four I've started using the My Speedway programme app.  Now with social media and "instant news" the thought of spending a cold evening writing things down (particularly in meetings with loads of changes) doesn't appeal to me.

 

Edited by MattB

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In the last few years I have been able to complete the race result in my programme as soon as the riders have ridden around the first bend!!

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