SteveLyric2 Posted November 23 Report Share Posted November 23 2 hours ago, Racin Jason 72 said: Poole home meetings especially dire viewing. Not on TNT though!!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArthurRudge Posted 11 hours ago Report Share Posted 11 hours ago On 11/22/2025 at 7:53 PM, SpeedwaySlider72 said: That's just not true. All sports have good and bad matches. Speedway can be incredible and mediocre, like every sport. But it is most televised league meeting are gash, how the hell you are supposed to get anyone new to get an interest in it is beyond me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 10 hours ago Report Share Posted 10 hours ago (edited) 1 hour ago, ArthurRudge said: But it is most televised league meeting are gash, how the hell you are supposed to get anyone new to get an interest in it is beyond me. The coverage of Speedway is so light touch and superficial (always has been) that I can't really think of it attracting anybody. The beauty of most sports are when you start to scratch the surface and go beyond skin deep and begin to understand the intricacies involved... what's the track like and are you going to make any changes before throwing back to a giggling presenter telling us that the absolute bilge we're watching is brilliant Speedway and great racing doesn't really cut it for most sports fans. Edited 10 hours ago by IainB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthsayer Posted 9 hours ago Report Share Posted 9 hours ago 1 hour ago, IainB said: The coverage of Speedway is so light touch and superficial (always has been) that I can't really think of it attracting anybody. The beauty of most sports are when you start to scratch the surface and go beyond skin deep and begin to understand the intricacies involved... what's the track like and are you going to make any changes before throwing back to a giggling presenter telling us that the absolute bilge we're watching is brilliant Speedway and great racing doesn't really cut it for most sports fans. Tatum and that stupid screwdriver. It's insulting the intelligence of the viewers... Clearly TNT didn't go to town with the coverage. It was pretty mediocre by British Eurosport's standards and, if anything, regressed on TNT, which is a more premium channel. The talent wasn't brought out and neither was the budget. Tatum is an awful lead commentator and often he was sole commentator. Yes he was thrust into the position after Nigel Pearson's death but he's a (former) professional sportsperson who understands its a results game. Speedway can be boring, we all know that, but the opportunities would have been there for interesting links and three minute features to really bring the sport to life. Not once can I remember seeing any little behind the scenes features: what does a rider do to prepare, follow them for a week, feature an engine tuner building a bike at the workshop... No money was invested in the production and the sport had to stand on its raw product which, frankly, is not good enough for modern tastes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 9 hours ago Report Share Posted 9 hours ago 17 minutes ago, truthsayer said: Tatum and that stupid screwdriver. It's insulting the intelligence of the viewers... Clearly TNT didn't go to town with the coverage. It was pretty mediocre by British Eurosport's standards and, if anything, regressed on TNT, which is a more premium channel. The talent wasn't brought out and neither was the budget. Tatum is an awful lead commentator and often he was sole commentator. Yes he was thrust into the position after Nigel Pearson's death but he's a (former) professional sportsperson who understands its a results game. Speedway can be boring, we all know that, but the opportunities would have been there for interesting links and three minute features to really bring the sport to life. Not once can I remember seeing any little behind the scenes features: what does a rider do to prepare, follow them for a week, feature an engine tuner building a bike at the workshop... No money was invested in the production and the sport had to stand on its raw product which, frankly, is not good enough for modern tastes. To be fair I think BT Sport did start to up their game towards the end of the GP coverage first time round with Scott Nicholls doing analysis on the big screen and even bringing his bikes in to show starting techniques etc. And Natalie Quirk was the most knowledge presenter the sport has ever had. I don't think the TV coverage has ever recovered after the sudden sad death of Nigel Pearson. Another marmite character (aren't they all) but one of the few involved in Speedway, along with Tatum and Louis who were/are articulate enough to be on TV. Not only involved in Speedway he did carry some credibility within the industry and who knows may have been able to carry some sway. Tatum should never have been lead commentator but much like British Speedway there was nobody else ever given the chance after a Tony Millard was edged out at Sky. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 8 hours ago Report Share Posted 8 hours ago 59 minutes ago, IainB said: To be fair I think BT Sport did start to up their game towards the end of the GP coverage first time round with Scott Nicholls doing analysis on the big screen and even bringing his bikes in to show starting techniques etc. And Natalie Quirk was the most knowledge presenter the sport has ever had. I don't think the TV coverage has ever recovered after the sudden sad death of Nigel Pearson. Another marmite character (aren't they all) but one of the few involved in Speedway, along with Tatum and Louis who were/are articulate enough to be on TV. Not only involved in Speedway he did carry some credibility within the industry and who knows may have been able to carry some sway. Tatum should never have been lead commentator but much like British Speedway there was nobody else ever given the chance after a Tony Millard was edged out at Sky. The sport, sadly, is riddled with ex riders iin positions that just being an ex speedway rider doesn't qualify you for... From Commentators, to CEO's, to Promoters, to Marketing... All require a specific skill set, based on successful experience in that particular field... UK Speedway keeps everything "n house", insular, and "that will do" as a measure of success... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk127 Posted 7 hours ago Report Share Posted 7 hours ago 9 minutes ago, mikebv said: The sport, sadly, is riddled with ex riders iin positions that just being an ex speedway rider doesn't qualify you for... From Commentators, to CEO's, to Promoters, to Marketing... All require a specific skill set, based on successful experience in that particular field... UK Speedway keeps everything "n house", insular, and "that will do" as a measure of success... Agree but if you go back in time you had characters and particularly the promoters who made the sport what it was such as Johnnie Hoskins, Dave Lanning, Len Silver, Wally Mawdsley etc, and add to the controversy of the methanol arguments between Rayleigh, Eastbourne and Canterbury, those were fun days. These incidents spiced up the sport and created rivalry which I am sure many on here witnessed between other close regional clubs and added some edge to the on track action. Rayleigh had its fair share with Crayford, Eastbourne, Canterbury, Romford and Ipswich over the years and that is what engendered the friendly rivalry. Other clubs around the country enjoyed the same and on occasions it crossed the boundaries of local clubs with regional exchanges such as the riders from Sunderland, Barrow, Birmingham, Bradford, Workington and many others who had characters that created a great atmosphere when they ventured south and challenged the locals. Unfortunately it is not the same today because the authorities have made it too clinical and the riders are not the personalities that we had just a few years back. The sport needs to reinvent itself internally and get back to the respected camaraderie that use to exist and embrace the fact that it can match others when it comes to being competitive and exciting. To attract bigger audiences think outside the box and stop knocking formats where they put bums on seats, cash in the till and t v exposure. The sport could learn from the marketing of WWE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 6 hours ago Report Share Posted 6 hours ago 13 minutes ago, Hawk127 said: Agree but if you go back in time you had characters and particularly the promoters who made the sport what it was such as Johnnie Hoskins, Dave Lanning, Len Silver, Wally Mawdsley etc, and add to the controversy of the methanol arguments between Rayleigh, Eastbourne and Canterbury, those were fun days. These incidents spiced up the sport and created rivalry which I am sure many on here witnessed between other close regional clubs and added some edge to the on track action. Rayleigh had its fair share with Crayford, Eastbourne, Canterbury, Romford and Ipswich over the years and that is what engendered the friendly rivalry. Other clubs around the country enjoyed the same and on occasions it crossed the boundaries of local clubs with regional exchanges such as the riders from Sunderland, Barrow, Birmingham, Bradford, Workington and many others who had characters that created a great atmosphere when they ventured south and challenged the locals. Unfortunately it is not the same today because the authorities have made it too clinical and the riders are not the personalities that we had just a few years back. The sport needs to reinvent itself internally and get back to the respected camaraderie that use to exist and embrace the fact that it can match others when it comes to being competitive and exciting. To attract bigger audiences think outside the box and stop knocking formats where they put bums on seats, cash in the till and t v exposure. The sport could learn from the marketing of WWE. It has zero identity, nor brand... It is neither a sport, nor sports entertainment.. The promoters of yesteryear knew some pantomime villains got crowds engaged.. The racing was often just part of the package.. UK Speedway was always a bit made up and contrived, but often had thousands in attendance so the spectacle seemed to have some resonsnce, and relevance... Now its hundreds that watch in three quarter empty stadia, without the same atmosphere, and even more contrived than it used to be.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk127 Posted 6 hours ago Report Share Posted 6 hours ago 25 minutes ago, mikebv said: It has zero identity, nor brand... It is neither a sport, nor sports entertainment.. The promoters of yesteryear knew some pantomime villains got crowds engaged.. The racing was often just part of the package.. UK Speedway was always a bit made up and contrived, but often had thousands in attendance so the spectacle seemed to have some resonsnce, and relevance... Now its hundreds that watch in three quarter empty stadia, without the same atmosphere, and even more contrived than it used to be.. Yep and today no one gives a monkey. It has lost its way and from an entertainment aspect it falls well short and unless it can come up with something that gets the sport in front of Joe Public with something special it is an also ran in terms of attracting new punters. I wish those in charge could see this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago ... and who can ever forget Sam Ermolenko's "office" comedy genius 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthsayer Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago 2 hours ago, mikebv said: The sport, sadly, is riddled with ex riders iin positions that just being an ex speedway rider doesn't qualify you for... From Commentators, to CEO's, to Promoters, to Marketing... All require a specific skill set, based on successful experience in that particular field... UK Speedway keeps everything "n house", insular, and "that will do" as a measure of success... Natalie Quirk and Nigel Pearson were two excellent journalists who put the hours in and were able to explain the sport to their audience. Experts are not there to lead the show but to support the professional presenters, which is why the Americans call them 'color' commentators. The loss of Nat and Nigel alone has led to a massive downturn in the quality to the TV product IMO. There's no excuse for Tatum though. Taking aside the annoying stock phrases, he just seems to phone it in. It's as if he does no research. No insight into form or anything. Commentators should be researching and have a pack of data on that rider's results. If they don't know, they get there early and talk to them in the pits. After all those years, there really is no excuse for such amateurish on screen talent. There's a lot that could be done with speedway as a TV product, but if you don't fix that it will always be a bit rubbish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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