Sky Sports New Deal

[StevePark 2,781]

 

I know it's a pain when meetings are moved around for TV, but every other sport has the same issue - even :Premier League football - so I reckon we'll have to put up with Monday nights.

 

Why Monday nights??

 

I seem to remember live meeetings on a Tuesday and a Wednesday on Sky last season.

[Conkers in Gravy 120]

 

Why Monday nights??

 

I seem to remember live meeetings on a Tuesday and a Wednesday on Sky last season

 

Good question. Sky started televising Rugby League on a Monday night and in the football season, they had their Monday Night Football - probably the best sports show on TV. Also, the chaotic nature of last season's EL programme won't have helped. I'm only guessing here.

[arthur cross 492]

It's whatever night suits Sky best to fill their schedule with a live event when their higher-profile sports are quieter ... they do the same with most of their scheduling of roughly 30 greyhound nights.

 

Judging by last season, they preferred Mondays (sometimes alongside live Premier League football) during the football season to leave Tuesdays and Wednesdays clear for the Champions League.

 

But in the football off-season, they made a big thing of shifting live Super League rugby into Monday nights and that's when they often shifted the speedway into Tuesdays or Wednesdays to give them a live event on those nights.

 

Tuesdays are awkward for our Elite League because of clashing with the weekly round of the Swedish Elit so that's why our Premier League tended to get a few of those slots.

 

It's only rarely that Sky have ever used Thursdays or Fridays for speedway as that's the point each week where a hefty chunk of their evening schedules go to golf (either Euro highlights or live US action).

[Woz01 3,589]

In the future Sky are likely to show meetings midweek as they have lost the champions league coverage, if there is a deal with sky of course.

[A ORLOV 8,628]

The showing of speedway works both ways on attendance levels. If your team was on tv and they are either not doing well, have awful opposition visiting or there is a possibility of a rain off, some people will stay at home and watch it. Others who used to go to speedway or just happen to come across it on the box could be tempted to visit their local track, but only if what they have seen is exciting and not a long drawn out meeting.

[StevePark 2,781]

It's whatever night suits Sky best to fill their schedule with a live event when their higher-profile sports are quieter ... they do the same with most of their scheduling of roughly 30 greyhound nights.

 

Judging by last season, they preferred Mondays (sometimes alongside live Premier League football) during the football season to leave Tuesdays and Wednesdays clear for the Champions League.

 

But in the football off-season, they made a big thing of shifting live Super League rugby into Monday nights and that's when they often shifted the speedway into Tuesdays or Wednesdays to give them a live event on those nights.

 

Tuesdays are awkward for our Elite League because of clashing with the weekly round of the Swedish Elit so that's why our Premier League tended to get a few of those slots.

 

It's only rarely that Sky have ever used Thursdays or Fridays for speedway as that's the point each week where a hefty chunk of their evening schedules go to golf (either Euro highlights or live US action).

 

Didn't help Newcastle much either (although, in the end, Adam McKinna in for Ludvig Lindgren had no bearing on the result, but it could have done).

[BWitcher 12,453]

 

I asked this question a while ago steve - nobody answered it.

 

IF SKY was so good for Speedway - why have Gates gone down in the last FIFTEEN Years and not up. Fifteen years being the length of time Speedway has been broadcast.

 

You would have thought that if our Sport showcasing on SKY was doing the job of getting Speedway in to the General Public's eye - that Gates would have gone UP!!

 

It patently obviously hasn't. Sadly.

 

How many fans had the sport lots BEFORE Sky.

 

The sport has also lost many, many more since due to the corrupt/inept way it has been run during that time, some long term hardcore supporters too who finally just said enough is enough.

 

The point that has been made over and over and is blatantly obvious to everyone, bar it seems promoters, is that TV is the most powerful too at their disposal. They HAVE to make it look like a speedway meeting is the place to be at. That means ensuring, by whatever means, there is a big crowd on hand for tv meetings. It's the sheep factor... and it works.

[muirspud 15]

Perhaps im in the minority what enjoys the sky coverage on tv and without it, i probably wouldnt be able watch any speedway at all. It could be with alot of tweaking, and from a neutral perspective, we see just random matches, british final and then a playoff at the end of the season. Could do with a weekly show, what covers all the leagues, U21, grand prix qualifiers etc, more in depth program which will get the casual viewer more interested in speedway. (this may cost alot, and if sky dont make much from speedway, then not going to be worth it)

 

The price for going to a speedway match has become to expensive compared to how much it was and in comparison to other things, it for me has become a luxury.

 

What sort of product will we see this year if sky shows matches? I actually dread to think, top riders gone, reserves at national league level. Going to be a long time before we see an actual Elite league standard match. Give the premier league alot more coverage and we may be onto a winner in a few years.

[The White Knight 9,039]

Perhaps im in the minority what enjoys the sky coverage on tv and without it, i probably wouldnt be able watch any speedway at all. It could be with alot of tweaking, and from a neutral perspective, we see just random matches, british final and then a playoff at the end of the season. Could do with a weekly show, what covers all the leagues, U21, grand prix qualifiers etc, more in depth program which will get the casual viewer more interested in speedway. (this may cost alot, and if sky dont make much from speedway, then not going to be worth it)

 

The price for going to a speedway match has become to expensive compared to how much it was and in comparison to other things, it for me has become a luxury.

 

What sort of product will we see this year if sky shows matches? I actually dread to think, top riders gone, reserves at national league level. Going to be a long time before we see an actual Elite league standard match. Give the premier league alot more coverage and we may be onto a winner in a few years.

 

You are probably NOT in the minority. Personally - I LOVE the Speedway on SKY - I watch all of it. I think the SKY Team do a great job.

 

BUT - looking at it in the round - I ask, is Speedway itself benefiting from the Television Coverage - the ONLY answer that I can come up with is that it isn't.

[fullbore 129]

 

Speedway desperately NEEDS people to come through the Gates, at present this is NOT happening. Why?

 

I am not against Television per sé - I just do not see where the benefits of fifteen years of TV coverage are. Simply, as far as I can see, there aren't any.

 

Well personally the answer is a 300 mile round trip...

Niamh

Edited January 27, 2014 by Niamh

[stevebrum 6,821]

The alternative view to that, of course, is that SKY have also facilitated people watching Speedway from their armchairs. This saves them the bother of getting off their backsides and going to a Meeting. Ergo - less money through the Gates. IF, as is rumoured, SKY are NOT paying anything for the privilege of showING our wonderful Sport - then I fail to see where the benefit TO Speedway is to result.

 

If it's NOT coming through the Gates because folk can stay at home and watch it on Television, and it's NOT coming from the Television Company - PLEASE someone explain the benefit of showing Speedway on the Television and how it BENEFITS materially our Sport.

 

FOR THE LIFE OF ME - I JUST CAN'T SEE IT!!!

The benefit to Speedway really is quite simple. It keeps and makes our great sport visible and relevant to other sports fans. It is that simple. The rest of the job IS NOT for SKY to bring in people through the turnstiles. That is the job of our promoters.

As others have said, SKY show sports with sparse support in the crowd. SKY SHOW the sports,the promotions of various sports PROMOTE their sports.

I cannot believe people blame SKY for fall in attendance and all that is wrong in our sport.

That falls at the feet of our promotions who don't do enough (or don't know how to to do more) for the continued fall in attendance. It was happening before SKY, which some seem to choose to ignore.

 

 

 

 

Good post.

I think it is impossible to quantify how Sky has affected speedway in the UK since it has been televising it as you say, it was in decline before Sky came on the scene.

 

My personal view and it is a guess, is that may well have been finished as a league sport in this country by now without Sky.

 

I have some mates that are MotoGP/roadracing fans and they started watching speedway on the TV about 10 years ago and are now regular viewers and also go to Brandon 7 or 8 times a season and they see the sport as very exciting. They came with me to watch it a few times many years ago but it took the regular viewing on the TV to get them hooked. Perhaps we underestimate this element of it being live on TV?

Likewise i have neighbours, friends, associates who can make an informed opinion on Speedway BECAUSE of SKY showing our sport. That cannot be measured in the amount of people through the turnstiles. I know (and have introduced) many `newcomer` to Speedway since SKY came on board because they wanted to see it live.

If the supporters are doing there bit to promote Speedway its now up to the promotions to follow suit, because the visibility that SKY give our sport cannot be measured either.

[theknow 2 180]

The benefit to Speedway really is quite simple. It keeps and makes our great sport visible and relevant to other sports fans. It is that simple. The rest of the job IS NOT for SKY to bring in people through the turnstiles. That is the job of our promoters.

As others have said, SKY show sports with sparse support in the crowd. SKY SHOW the sports,the promotions of various sports PROMOTE their sports.

I cannot believe people blame SKY for fall in attendance and all that is wrong in our sport.

That falls at the feet of our promotions who don't do enough (or don't know how to to do more) for the continued fall in attendance. It was happening before SKY, which some seem to choose to ignore.

 

 

 

 

 

Likewise i have neighbours, friends, associates who can make an informed opinion on Speedway BECAUSE of SKY showing our sport. That cannot be measured in the amount of people through the turnstiles. I know (and have introduced) many `newcomer` to Speedway since SKY came on board because they wanted to see it live.

If the supporters are doing there bit to promote Speedway its now up to the promotions to follow suit, because the visibility that SKY give our sport cannot be measured either.

Agree with you for once.

[NTB 17]

I enjoy the Monday night speedway me and my mates get together with a boat load of chicken wings. It def brightens up another dull Monday!

[stevebrum 6,821]

Agree with you for once.

Well, i make a lot of sense you know! ;-)

[Conkers in Gravy 120]

 

You are probably NOT in the minority. Personally - I LOVE the Speedway on SKY - I watch all of it. I think the SKY Team do a great job.

 

BUT - looking at it in the round - I ask, is Speedway itself benefiting from the Television Coverage - the ONLY answer that I can come up with is that it isn't.

 

Speedway has declined since Sky started live coverage, we can all agree on that. But how many other sports have had live TV coverage and got worse?

 

Rugby League was close to death's door before Sky came along and although some clubs have their troubles, the professional game is played to a high standard, in mostly comfortable, clean stadia with two or three games a week well-presented on TV. I used the example of Brentford v Gillingham earlier and that's true of all football. There's more football on TV than it's possible to watch (15 games in three days on Sky and BT starting next Friday night), yet grounds are packed with fans prepared to pay anything between £20 and £60 for a ticket. People see football and rugby on TV and want to be part of it.

 

It's easy to blame TV for speedway's problems, but I think it's putting two and two together and making five. Remove live speedway from TV and you've killed off the last chance for national exposure of the sport and I think it would decline down to grasstrack levels. Other sports use TV to generate interest and then deliver in terms of excitement and value when folk go to games. Speedway obviously doesn't do that despite having a privileged position with Sky that other comparable sports like basketball and ice hockey haven't. You need to look at the sport for the answer, not blame an organisation which has given speedway a platform to promote itself and handed over quite a bit of cash in the process.