Am I correct in thinking that most people are satisfied with BBCs coverage from Sochi.I wanted to watch the ladies cross country relay this morning (which turned out to be an incredible race) and there was no coverage at all,until near the very end of the race,on any of their media.The six streams covered 3 curling matches,2 ice hockey and the BBC2 coverage which was more curling.They are obsessed with Curling to the detriment of the other sports.
Since Winter sport is a niche sport anyway in this country, relegated away to Extreme Sports channel and ESPN, it's a delicate balancing act. Most of the high-profile "extreme" sports like snowboarding, halfpipe etc will get audiences, as will traditional sports such as ice dancing, hockey, bobsleigh and skiing. Some of the more laborious events however will not receive such wide ranging coverage on the limited platform the BBC can afford to offer. Throw in little-to-zero British interest and you do not have a ratings winner.
Curling however, being a Scottish invention, the 3rd most popular sport north of the border will always feature prominently, given that our ladies' team are World Cup champions and have a decent chance of getting a medal. Also its relative simplicity and similarity to bowls make it an easy spectator sport to understand, brushes and orgasmic yells aside.
I appreciate what you say Michael but when they have 3 streams showing the same sport,,albeit different matches,and there is live action of another sport taking place,receiving no coverage,its doesn't seem to me that they are providing the level of service that they are boasting about.
Well who knew that 90 minutes of Nordic skiing on a Sunday morning would be such good television? Patrick Winterton and Rob Walker are a great partnership.
On another note, Amy Williams really is a great addition to the team. A great presenter and not a bad commentator either. Very natural in front of the camera.
Absolutely agree - we've seen many times a former champion doesn't necessarily make them the best person for the job when it comes to covering the sport on TV but she has been great. Not really got any complaints about the pundits or commentators at all and it's great they've finally fot a decent co-commentator for Ed Leigh on the snowboarding - the only weak link IMO is Jonathan Edwards. He did a decent enough job for C4 on the Paralympics but just isn't cutting it here IMO - unlike Hazel and Clare he makes it look like hard work.
I missed this when it was released but C4 have announced details of their Paralympic coverage, with 50 hours across C4 and More4, plus 2 further HD channels "available digitally".
Most of the key talent from 2012 returns, with Ade Adepitan, Arthur Williams, Jonathan Edwards and Kelly Cates based in London and Rachael Latham, Daraine Mulvihill and Iwan Thomas out in Sochi. Jon Snow will anchor the opening ceremony with Krishnan Guru Murphy commentating, as in London.
No involvement at all mentioned for Clare Balding - the games do clash with Cheltenham so that's not too big a surprise, but I thought they'd use her for the Opening and Closing ceremonies. Would certainly make more sense for Clare to anchor them than Jon Snow.
Lack of Georgie Bingham also. However no loss as she comes across as rather harsh in presentational style. Harsh isn't the word I mean to use but cant think of the one I need!!
Lack of Georgie Bingham also. However no loss as she comes across as rather harsh in presentational style. Harsh isn't the word I mean to use but cant think of the one I need!!
I know what you mean by that and I found her really unlikable because of it during the Paras.
A little surprised they're bringing back Jon Snow for the ceremonies given that he didn't exactly get stellar reception last time. Don't really understand the need to have a presenter who only does the ceremonies and nothing else. Shame Claire isn't back.
Just seen the Sochi highlights programme for the first time, I endured about 90 seconds.
Is it some DQF initiative to have only one camera in the 'studio', handheld and swinging around; no personal mics attached to Claire Balding or her guests, and her two guests having to share a single stick mic between them ?
I couldn't bear it, and switched off again. I won't be back.
See, I'd be interested to know why those things detracted from your enjoyment of the programme.
Remember: we are not typical viewers. We are nerds.
It's low production values, simple as that. What's planned for the next winter Olympics, broadcasting
the programme using an i-phone ? More and more stuff is now affected by the wobbly camera/crash zoom mindset.
I don't disagree with you (although the microphone stuff is perhaps a LITTLE picky :p ) but I do often like pointing out that when you have an interest in something, like we all do, our tolerances and opinions are different from the regular public. They won't care that there's only 1 mic. They MAY care about the wobbly camera, and indeed that's been a complaint for years.
