SGP 2 FINALS and SGP 3 FINAL NOT ON TV in 2026

[racers and royals]

Following on from last week’s  debacle over the SON 2 non TV coverage, Richard Coleman of Mayfield Sports has issued a statement which appears in this week’s Speedway Star,  out today. There is also a section on the Social media outrage over the meeting.

Would he have said anything if a reporter hadn’t contacted him ? Doubtful in my opinion.

So thousands of Speedway fans worldwide won’t be able to watch the FIM flagship junior Speedway finals, which we are used to seeing. 3 SGP 2 and the SGP 3 final in 3 weeks. The SGP 3 final in recent years has produced some superb Speedway from the youngsters on their 250cc bikes.

If Coleman knew last year that the SON 2 meeting would not be filmed by Mayfield Sports it’s a shame he didn’t have the balls  to tell anyone !!

I think of the streaming we have currently- BSN, Sweden and Denmark 4 live matches per week and of course Poland where many meetings are on TV, or streamed. One such meeting is this afternoon - the Bronze Helmet produced for the live showing on the Motowizja channel by Sabmar TV. Even the FIM have a streaming channel along with their partner Tapes up TV.

So where does that leave the FIM ? I suspect angry and disappointed.

There is i would hope time for the powers that be to sort something out for the SGP 2 finals coverage as the 1st final is not until the 10th July.

[Mr Bee]

5 hours ago, racers and royals said:

Following on from last week’s  debacle over the SON 2 non TV coverage, Richard Coleman of Mayfield Sports has issued a statement which appears in this week’s Speedway Star,  out today. There is also a section on the Social media outrage over the meeting.

Would he have said anything if a reporter hadn’t contacted him ? Doubtful in my opinion.

So thousands of Speedway fans worldwide won’t be able to watch the FIM flagship junior Speedway finals, which we are used to seeing. 3 SGP 2 and the SGP 3 final in 3 weeks. The SGP 3 final in recent years has produced some superb Speedway from the youngsters on their 250cc bikes.

If Coleman knew last year that the SON 2 meeting would not be filmed by Mayfield Sports it’s a shame he didn’t have the balls  to tell anyone !!

I think of the streaming we have currently- BSN, Sweden and Denmark 4 live matches per week and of course Poland where many meetings are on TV, or streamed. One such meeting is this afternoon - the Bronze Helmet produced for the live showing on the Motowizja channel by Sabmar TV. Even the FIM have a streaming channel along with their partner Tapes up TV.

So where does that leave the FIM ? I suspect angry and disappointed.

There is i would hope time for the powers that be to sort something out for the SGP 2 finals coverage as the 1st final is not until the 10th July.

Looking at this strictly from a business point of view, rather than just as a Speedway fan, the situation seems clear to me from the inetrview.

I'll admit that last week I completely misjudged the support that you personally had on here, and I was wrong to try and find the humour in you ranting to HBO. You are passionate about the sport. But looking at the situation now, Richard Coleman's interview sums it all up perfectly. I’m not going to argue that the communication wasn't poor, it was and it should have been common knowledge that these events are not being broadcast. It may have affected people’s decision to subscribe and is no different from me holding back information to purchasers in my business life, but the rest of peoples outrage is completely detached from commercial reality in my opinion.

Coleman is just stating the blunt facts of a balance sheet. Television production companies aren't charities run for the benefit of our hobby; they are businesses driven by viewing figures. The hard truth is that outside of Poland, Speedway is just not a popular sport anymore. "Thousands of fans worldwide" phoning HBO on Facebook or wherever else they post and spend their life rather than doing other things and enjoying themselves, doesn't pay for an outside broadcast unit, satellite uplinks, and a full production crew. It takes millions of viewers to make that viable, and the numbers simply aren't there at the moment. As he says, his job has been to "sort the SGP out, first and foremost, as the previous promoter was losing millions". 

As for the Streaming argument, you cannot sell an exclusive rights package which he has done and then decide to broadcast a rogue stream because people are complaining on a forum.

Me agreeing with the interview is just me trying to understand how their business works. Demanding a full television production without the viewership to back it up is pure fantasy. That being said, from a corporate perspective, it would certainly be interesting to hear what the FIM actually think about the situation and where it leaves the commercial value of their flagship junior events.

[racers and royals]

16 minutes ago, Mr Bee said:

Looking at this strictly from a business point of view, rather than just as a Speedway fan, the situation seems clear to me from the inetrview.

I'll admit that last week I completely misjudged the support that you personally had on here, and I was wrong to try and find the humour in you ranting to HBO. You are passionate about the sport. But looking at the situation now, Richard Coleman's interview sums it all up perfectly. I’m not going to argue that the communication wasn't poor, it was and it should have been common knowledge that these events are not being broadcast. It may have affected people’s decision to subscribe and is no different from me holding back information to purchasers in my business life, but the rest of peoples outrage is completely detached from commercial reality in my opinion.

Coleman is just stating the blunt facts of a balance sheet. Television production companies aren't charities run for the benefit of our hobby; they are businesses driven by viewing figures. The hard truth is that outside of Poland, Speedway is just not a popular sport anymore. "Thousands of fans worldwide" phoning HBO on Facebook or wherever else they post and spend their life rather than doing other things and enjoying themselves, doesn't pay for an outside broadcast unit, satellite uplinks, and a full production crew. It takes millions of viewers to make that viable, and the numbers simply aren't there at the moment. As he says, his job has been to "sort the SGP out, first and foremost, as the previous promoter was losing millions". 

As for the Streaming argument, you cannot sell an exclusive rights package which he has done and then decide to broadcast a rogue stream because people are complaining on a forum.

Me agreeing with the interview is just me trying to understand how their business works. Demanding a full television production without the viewership to back it up is pure fantasy. That being said, from a corporate perspective, it would certainly be interesting to hear what the FIM actually think about the situation and where it leaves the commercial value of their flagship junior events.

Thank you for a very reasoned reply.

[London Racer]

A very fair reps

1 hour ago, Mr Bee said:

Looking at this strictly from a business point of view, rather than just as a Speedway fan, the situation seems clear to me from the inetrview.

I'll admit that last week I completely misjudged the support that you personally had on here, and I was wrong to try and find the humour in you ranting to HBO. You are passionate about the sport. But looking at the situation now, Richard Coleman's interview sums it all up perfectly. I’m not going to argue that the communication wasn't poor, it was and it should have been common knowledge that these events are not being broadcast. It may have affected people’s decision to subscribe and is no different from me holding back information to purchasers in my business life, but the rest of peoples outrage is completely detached from commercial reality in my opinion.

Coleman is just stating the blunt facts of a balance sheet. Television production companies aren't charities run for the benefit of our hobby; they are businesses driven by viewing figures. The hard truth is that outside of Poland, Speedway is just not a popular sport anymore. "Thousands of fans worldwide" phoning HBO on Facebook or wherever else they post and spend their life rather than doing other things and enjoying themselves, doesn't pay for an outside broadcast unit, satellite uplinks, and a full production crew. It takes millions of viewers to make that viable, and the numbers simply aren't there at the moment. As he says, his job has been to "sort the SGP out, first and foremost, as the previous promoter was losing millions". 

As for the Streaming argument, you cannot sell an exclusive rights package which he has done and then decide to broadcast a rogue stream because people are complaining on a forum.

Me agreeing with the interview is just me trying to understand how their business works. Demanding a full television production without the viewership to back it up is pure fantasy. That being said, from a corporate perspective, it would certainly be interesting to hear what the FIM actually think about the situation and where it leaves the commercial value of their flagship junior events.

A very fair response Mr Bee, one thing I may add when they describe the costs involved, surely the production team were already there and cameras etc in place for the following nights GP? Would it have cost much more to do the Friday? Surely there’s a lot of savings made by having 2 meetings at the same venue in 2 nights? 
Also assume after the response that the FIM need to ensure these events are part of the package they sell? Surely they as the governing body would want to have these big events aired to the world

[IainB]

10 minutes ago, London Racer said:

A very fair reps

A very fair response Mr Bee, one thing I may add when they describe the costs involved, surely the production team were already there and cameras etc in place for the following nights GP? Would it have cost much more to do the Friday? Surely there’s a lot of savings made by having 2 meetings at the same venue in 2 nights? 
Also assume after the response that the FIM need to ensure these events are part of the package they sell? Surely they as the governing body would want to have these big events aired to the world

Also... don't be going on about how brilliant it all is on social media while ignoring the fans asking why it's not being televised if it's so good 🤷‍♂️

[Mr Bee]

32 minutes ago, London Racer said:

A very fair reps

A very fair response Mr Bee, one thing I may add when they describe the costs involved, surely the production team were already there and cameras etc in place for the following nights GP? Would it have cost much more to do the Friday? Surely there’s a lot of savings made by having 2 meetings at the same venue in 2 nights? 
Also assume after the response that the FIM need to ensure these events are part of the package they sell? Surely they as the governing body would want to have these big events aired to the world

RC did address the Friday point and has said that "yes, the cameras are there on a Friday but that is our Rigging day. To broadcast live on a Friday, Rigging would have to be the day before and that would be another 60,000 - 80,000 Euro".

They simply don't have the money. 

[racers and royals]

52 minutes ago, Mr Bee said:

RC did address the Friday point and has said that "yes, the cameras are there on a Friday but that is our Rigging day. To broadcast live on a Friday, Rigging would have to be the day before and that would be another 60,000 - 80,000 Euro".

They simply don't have the money. 

Let's surmise

WBD signed a 10 year contract with the FIM for ( i assume) promoting

and showing the GP’s SWC, SON SON 2 and SGP 2 and SGP 3 which they did for 5 years before bailing out.

What interests me is what agreement is now in place between them,( FIM) and Mayfield Sports and where does the TV output sit within that contract.

I would doubt that the FIM would have agreed for the SGP’s, SWC and SON only to be shown on TV. 

What we don’t know and probably won’t find out is 

1/ Are Mayfield Sports contracted to provide TV production for SON 2 , SGP 2 and SGP 3.

2/ are WBD ( HBO) contracted to show SON 2, SGP 2 and SGP 3 in addition to the GP’s and SWC/SON.

If either are true then someone is breaking a contract.

Edited 52 minutes ago by racers and royals

[therefused]

1 hour ago, Mr Bee said:

RC did address the Friday point and has said that "yes, the cameras are there on a Friday but that is our Rigging day. To broadcast live on a Friday, Rigging would have to be the day before and that would be another 60,000 - 80,000 Euro".

They simply don't have the money. 

why does rigging a day earlier than planned cost so much more money? the work must be the same no matter what day of the week it takes place

[racers and royals]

The more that comes out the more pathetic the whole thing is.

Tapes up TV are streaming on PPV  2 of the 3 SGP 2 qualifying rounds on Saturday 27th June in Pardubice and Fjelsted.