RobMcCaffery

Look, I worked for one a long time ago, much to my cost. They all are. Sky raised the bar though and that invited the likes of BT in. People seem to think that Sky are a generous charity giving sport to the masses then the awful BT came along to spoil it. At least BT's coverage assumes the viewer has a brain.

(Sigh) Well it worked, for a while. I think this sandpit is a horror sandpit and the people describing what goes on in it 'do my head in'. If only this sandpit was perfect as mine. Tears before bedtime, I suspect. Is it worth opening a thread called "Sandpit" and banishing these bores there? Phil, are you there? Anyone heard of a sport called speedway? It used to be rather good and had some pretty decent fans. Seems so long ago......... (Off to check whether my dad is bigger than other people's)

If Sky hadn't ripped-off the customers to line the pockets of footballers and their agents the likes of BT would probably have left them alone. As soon as silly money started circulating then competition was inevitable.

Now you can enjoy your six month close season.

Did anyone watch the matches last night?

The shortest season at Rye House since the Rockets moved in in 1974. I do hope that quality compensated for quantity. (Still care about the old place and Rayleigh Rockets will always be my team).

Going off-topic, anyone else think BT and the BSPA 'dodged the bullet' by the former not televising Wolves v King's Lynn last night? So far only the odd guest has shown up our problems on live TV. While it was pure, tragic chance that the match would lose three reserves in one heat, resulting in only four heats having four riders they would also have had to show two riders appearing for two teams on the same night! I shall now return you to the sandpit. It'll all end in tears, mind you.

The latest information I have is that the schedules will be finally going onto their website during this week. Until then you can always see which Swedish and Polish Extraliga matches are being televised internationally on racers & royals pinned posting: http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=83760 The Swedish and two Extraliga matches listed will usually end up on Premier Sports and the Swedish at least on Free Sports. Hope this helps, well at least for the final weeks of their seasons. Since the channel is free it would make sense for them to stream it on their website. People are keeping a close eye out for it. https://www.freesports.tv/

The only way they could get planning permission was to accept a very early curfew which is why their meetings start at 6.30 pm.

Yet again the assumption that people watch on TV instead of going to matches. Isn't it possible for people to do both or is there some unwritten rule I haven't stumbled across over the years? We might get a few back but would they compensate for the lost sponsors?

I see that's in the content list. While it's good news for viewers it does suggest that Premier don't see it as being worth charging for. Note it doesn't say all matches. It might just be a few. To be honest it's hard enough to find online listings(*) for this channel, let alone firm proposals of what they're actually going to do. (* I understand the Sky Guide now carries them, but not their own website!)

That could be a very encouraging sign for next year - BT being prepared to take the extra costs and gamble on what could be a difficult match to 'sell' if it's anything like last week's Stars performance at Rye House. Let's hope it pays off,

Free Sports is NOT a copy of Premier Sports. It shows a mixture of repeats from Premier, plus matches that there aren't room for on Premier and occasionally, but very occasionally before Premier, as with an ice hockey match on opening night. Premier showed a Cardiff match, FS a Nottingham match which was then repeated on Premier later on. I would have thought it obvious that no TV channel would be stupid enough to take money off people for a channel while also showing exactly the same channel's contents for free on another. Later on they will be showing 15 ice hockey matches live per week. 12 will be on Premier and the other three will be on Free Sports - you hopefully get the idea of what's going on. If you want to watch the speedway live then you'll need to pay for Premier. If you can wait for repeats then FS is an option. But I doubt you could be certain that all speedway matches will end up being repeated on Free Sports long term. The safest long-term bet is the Premier Sports subscription.

Sadly although the channel is SD you do have to have Freeview HD to receive it, either built into the set or set-top box. Mind you, Argos are doing a Freeview HD box for just £35. The reason why you need an HD TV or box to receive an SD channel like this is that it's being broadcast on a cheaper, modern system to the original Freeview that makes it more affordable for the smaller channels like Free Sports or Talking Pictures to use it. Even then not all the transmitters carry these extra stations. If you're on a local relay they tend to have 'Freeview Light' with far fewer stations. It's a mess and expecting the general public to understand is like trying to explain guests and tacical rides to your mate down the pub

Far from it. In the sports that they have contracts for they certainly don't skimp - hiring Gary Lineker to front their Champions' League football coverage is far from a cheap option and there is certainly no skimping on the coverage of rugby or other sports. The difference with speedway is that they seem not to hold the contract and are actually helping speedway out by televising the matches that Sky have already paid for in their contract but don't want to incur the actual additional costs of actually televising them. So, the last-minute speedway 'stand-in' role this season has naturally seen them cut costs to the bone. Hopefully after this test season what they have seen and themselves achieved with limited resources will encourage them to take on the contract for themselves and make a firm financial commitment in future years, at least in terms of coverage costs. I suspect the 'facilities fee' and sponsorship gravy train of the peak Sky days has long derailed for the sport. Don't fall for Sky's propaganda about the 'inadequacies' of BT's coverage of sport - it gets everywhere, and they are clearly running scared of BT. As for Monday's second match, the chances of it being an entertaining, close contest are pretty slim so it's surely wiser to avoid all the overtime costs and just be satisfied with what should be a great first match rather than pay a crew to cover a run of 5-1s between 10 pm and 11 and spoil the memory of the earlier match and those in the series? When you take an objective view of the matches shown on BT so far the sport's managed to behave itself with minimal guests and r/r and matches staged in front of reasonable crowds. I think it's come over well with the disasters thankfully happening well away from the cameras. In fact a casual BT viewer would probably be shocked to see the view of a sport on its deathbed given by the sport's supposed supporters in this forum.

I think you'll find the channel is supposed to be the same on all platforms. What you see on terrestrial should be identical to satellite and cable, as with the great majority of other channels broadcasting on all three, bar some of the ads.

Well it's 'simples' if you are informed that you can use it. Sadly the website doesn't and all the Star ads do is tell you to visit that website. There's mention of web and Android access 'via Exact Editions apps' then sloppily only gives the Apple app link. In any case the significant point is the lack of discount regarding printing and distribution savings in the price. It re-emphasises the point that Exact Editions are doing a lousy job of explaining exactly what services they actually offer. A magazine like the Speedway Star deserves better. Sorry, I avoid adverts so I have no quote from one to close the message with

All reports in media circles are that it will only be in SD, with HD reserved for subscribers to Premier Sports. Free Sports' website makes no reference to channel 273 which has been marked elsewhere as 'Sports Channel Network', 'to be launched' for some time. There's no apparent need for two Freeview channels but as always in these situations much can change before it finally settles down. We have to watch and wait. Suggestions are that it's more than technical problems delaying a launch on Virgin Media and that a deal between FS and VM needs to be worked out. Goodness knows when that may happen given past history!

I hope I can help to clarify some confusion over this new channel. Free Sports is a sister channel to Premier Sports in the UK and eirsports in Ireland. It will only be an SD channel. The idea is to get people to pay for a subscription to the parent channels to get HD. It launched Thursday morning at 6 am but so far only a fraction of the target audience can get it for various technical reasons, principally involving Sky who control the satellite signal to their subscribers plus Freesat and Virgin, both of whom use the same satellite feed as Sky for their services. Right now the launch is a mess. I'll try to summarise. Sky (will be channel 424) - Sky need to check the technical side of the channel before allowing it to go on their electronic programme guide (epg) at the intended channel 424. This may have happened or be imminent. The channel IS on satellite, just needs to be watched off epg via "other channels" for now. Freesat (channel 252) is really just an epg - the signals are exactly the same as the free channels on Sky. So, until the Sky problem is resolved the channel can only be watched on Freesat by using 'add non-freesat channels', rather like adding ITV regions. It has been stated that Freesat 252 will go live on September 12th - better late than never. There is no date or channel yet for FS on Virgin Media. Given past performance it will probably show up without prior warning. I'm a VM subscriber so will be monitoring. So, on to those relying on other services. BT and Talk Talk just relay the main Freeview channels. All will use channel 95. The channel has launched on Freeview, but only in certain areas. If your TV or set top box is able to receive certain HD channels, over and above the basic BBC examples then you should be able to receive FS on 95. If not then you won't be getting the station at all. You need to be on a main rather than relay transmitter to get it. You thought the SCB Regulations were twisted..... So, to summarise, by September 12th you should be able to receive FS as follows, I'm sure it won't be as easy as that. : Freeview (in certain areas with certain boxes/TVs), Talk Talk & BT - channel 95 Sky - 424 Freesat - 252 Virgin - lord knows..... For those able to use the 'add channels' on Sky or Freesat the technical details are: 11426V, Symbol Rate: 27500, FEC: 5/6, DVB-S, SID:52556 Good luck! (UPDATE: - looks like it's now up and running on Sky 424)

I've just read the piece and agree that it clearly sums up the serious problems and I really sympathise with all at Pinegen in what must be very worrying times for a genuine group of people who have worked tirelessly to produce a weekly magazine that quite frankly is far too good for the sport it serves. I can't see many other minor (specialist?) sports getting such professional, weekly coverage and for what is still a bargain price at £3. While some seem to think it's easier to get all that it contains for free online they may be able to get information about their own track but the sport as a whole? You also pay for journalism and editing - checking information rather than the random publication of what is often pure uninformed and unchecked rubbish online. I've got a concern regarding the online subscription though. I subscribe to several magazines away from the sport and the electronic subscriptions are cheaper, yet in the Star's case the online annual sub is £119.99 against £116 for the print version. With this in mind I can understand Pinegen wanting or needing to add content to the online version and I expect that they see more of the sub but this lack of discount is unusual. The online distributor mentions Android access but the only link on the website is to the Apple Store. There is no link to an Android source such as the Google Play Store. There appears to be no option to read the electronic edition on a Windows pc, tablet or laptop. I can understand not being able to buy individual copies but it is probably cutting off a few extra sales rather than pushing people towards longer-term subs. I appreciate that much is in the hands of the online distributor but Exact Editions don't seem to be making it easy or financially tempting to switch to an online sub which I suspect is a handicap that the Star could do without in what I am sure is a battle to survive. I'm proud to have made my minor contributions to the magazine over the years, mainly just match reports, so I do respect the magazine and those who write it and do wish them and the magazine well.

Poole's fans show their grace in victory yet again. As if the sport didn't have enough problems....... Bad losers are unpleasant but appalling winners are beneath contempt.

Min luftpudebåd er fyldt med ål

At hævde danskere kæmper for at konstruere en sætning på engelsk er så latterligt som at forvente en saner-beslutning fra BSPA.

Rather better than most British people's attempts to construct a sentence in Danish.

Delighted to see something like common sense being applied and the match being finally confirmed for Thursday night. It would be tempting to ask why such an obvious solution wasn't taken earlier but since I'm rapidly approaching my 50th season I really should know that answer........... Finishing a season with six matches in eight nights is beyond parody though. You cannot run a 'sport' this way. Switching to more positive thoughts it was great to see the old place looking so impressive last night on BT. Sadly circumstances prevent me visiting now. I remember arriving at the place in 1974, still shocked and grieving over the loss of Rayleigh and wondering where the heck we were and how we were going to cope in this new home. It's taken over forty years but at last it's looking like a proper speedway stadium with a half-decent track. Of course in 1974 it was a case of building the best track you could in a very unsuitable and cramped stadium so there were obvious restrictions on the quality of track that could be built. It was a real pleasure to see it come over so well last night. It'll never be a classic racing track - there's simply not enough room, even with the elimination of the dog track. The new promotion have understandably made mistakes (white rocket on blue and gold PLEASE - it's a minor point to some but important heritage to others) but it looks like it's all coming together. Now they need regular weekly speedway on a consistent race night again.