ITV Racing Team

Did Chapman get an interview?
No surprise if he didn't, he probably thought he was a certainty....like many others on here

@hulk23 -- only chance of getting a new crowd interested is to ... ...

ITV should forget about new crowds and cater in the first instance to existing fans, most of whom have not subscribed to ATR or RUK, for the simple reason they are at work during the week. Its starting assumption should be that viewers are watching because they are interested, even if they might not know all of the technicalities. Channel 4 often seemed to think viewers were idiots who'd tuned in accidentally when the cat sat on the remote control.

'Channel 4 often seemed to think viewers were idiots who'd tuned in accidentally when the cat sat on the remote control'

ITV will be exactly the same. Catering mainly for the casual viewer. Doesn't worry me, I just fast forward through the chatting, watch the race, listen to whatever connections have to say but only if it is a big race, then fast forward onto the next one.

We should all be very grateful that Tarn & Fitzy are not part of ITV's team.
I'd like a weekly forum vote for us to send a forumite on for a 5 minute slot on the morning line, should there be one.

I think 6 month time people will be wishing it was still ch4 doing the racing........only 2 things wrong with ch4 are fitzy being on too much......not at all would be great........and Tanya....lovely girl but very uncomfortable to watch.....just not a natural.....if anything is getting worse

itv could do worse than introduce a free bet like soccer saturday do, say guess the finishing order of the first 3 home in 3 impossible handicaps, with a consolation prize if you get the 3 horses but in the wrong order, the probability of getting it would be very remote but it would get the public involved and interested, also have someone doing form who is a an actual punter going round the ring backing his fancies - the program suddenly becomes reality tv, now that could catch on

genius alert genius alert - aka Admiral ins' Advert


get Steve Palmer on it!

whats happening with Cunningham,please don`t tell me the windbag is going to part of the itv "revolution"

Cunningham is giving Fitzgerald a lift to the Job Centre.   They both have an appointment there on January 2nd.

Cunningham will reintroduce his tipping line and fitzys is going to try his hand at busking

GC has friends in the right places, doubt he needs to worry

AS delta out it 2 of Amy Weavers ex's, i presume he means Sally Anne and Hayley .
she might make a comeback and have a threesome ffs Delta Sally Anne is no more gay , she's has quite rightly earned a nickname of the MOBILE **** in IRELAND, jockeys just luv her silken mouth

OH! NO !

deltas not normally wrong imo

we all are incorrect once ,,,
surely Spencer lamping Hayley and half of Newmarket tipping Weaver negates his claims

I hate 'broadcasters' but .. Rishi Persad is ok imho. He's not: self-regarding, pompous or obsequious. He seems to be: modest and interested and he speaks well. OK he may not be a racing expert but I still think he's a good choice.

i watched the morning line re goodwood celebration mile meeting and rishi reviewed the races and offered a valid opinion . i think hes ok too .gc , j,mc and tom lee are also ok imo . id prefer a franker assessment though . ie if you see a small yard running a gelding after 25 days plus my thought is they dont have the work staff to keep it fit and this should be touched upon .they dont mention whether horses may or may not be suited to the particular track of the day regarding their physicallity . i can foresee what the horse looks like based on its form but not if their lightly raced .id like to see the  parade ring and down to post on view as they interview the protagonists on audio . finally id like to see a presenter that will stand up for the punters not just shrug and move on when something or someone clearly has questions to answer

Surely any person who punts for anything more than idle recreation wouldn't watch ITV anyway- they will have subs to ATR and RUK.

A non-thread so far as us cognoscenti are concerned- sorry.

placepot type bet for the races on the show would be better / easier. 

this way people could have an interest deep into the show.

If the ITV team announced by ThunderRoad is accurate and not a bad-taste joke then it is  certainly doomed. Among that motley lot there is not a single pundit of depth. Jim McGrath (not the fat heart-attack-pending Aussie), John Francome and Graham Cunningham must be included and as regards eye candy forget Hayley and Hayley and bring on the ever-youthful Dot Cotton lookalike Tanya! Wow - what a gal !!

Everybody's worst fears have been realised,Fitzgerald is on the team ffs!

I wont be watching  at least Lucky will be back on RUK

There are a lot of differing opinions on who should be in, I don't mind the line up.

I guess that 99%, myself included, didn't want Fitzy anywhere near the gig. Crazy decision.

MICK FITZGERALD will add a former jump jockey's perspective to the new ITV racing team after he was on Sunday revealed as the latest addition to the channel's roster for next year.

Hot on the heels of the news that Britain's most successful female rider Hayley Turner has been signed up by ITV bosses, the Grand National winner will also join a cast to be fronted by ex-Sky Sports football anchor Ed Chamberlin.

Fitzgerald, 46, was rumoured to be in the reckoning for a role and, although he declined to comment on Sunday, his agent Jon Holmes revealed the switch had been rubber-stamped.

"Mick will be part of the team," he said. "I don't know any more at this stage, that's where we are at the moment."

Fitzgerald is the second personality to move to ITV from Channel 4 Racing following Rishi Persad, as the broadcaster prepares to take over the sport's terrestrial rights on a four-year contract from January 1.

Since being forced to retire through injury in 2008, the former leading rider, who amassed 1,303 victories during a glittering career that featured not only a National victory on Rough Quest but also a Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph on See More Business, has turned his talents to the media, working for a number of organisations including the BBC.

Fitzgerald started a full-time presenting role for At The Races soon after hanging up his saddle and joined Channel 4 as a pundit in 2013, since when he has covered Flat racing as well as jumps.

The other confirmed members of the ITV team to be revealed so far are Francesca Cumani, Oli Bell and Sally Ann Grassick.

Just one thing why do they need so many!!and also channel4 lost viewers so why go for any of their people at all

Mick Fitzgerald + ITV Racing =  R I P terrestrial racing coverage

Racing people probably put Mick's name forward because they know he'll never criticise,,,

I had some serious reservations over Turner, but the appointment of Fitzgerald defies belief !!  Appalling in every way.

I, like many on here, watch RUK/ATR.  Out of curiosity I was looking for a reason to watch the new set up.  Unfortunately, the powers that be have now given me one good reason not to..

The Fitzgerald and to a slightly lesser extent Turner appointments send out a clear signal that any change in the ITV format is likely to be cosmetic.I really fear for the future of terrestrial broadcasting of racing because when this contract ends in failure there'll be nowhere else to go.

pity its not april 1st today

they have just isolated a significant proportion of current racing enthusiast who turned off channel 4 because he was on there

because fitzgerald is on I won't even be giving ITV a chance such a shame

Aug 30, 2016 -- 3:10AM, SHADDER wrote:

Mick Fitzgerald + ITV Racing =

100% on the money shadder

Fitzgerald and Turner. I'm struggling to think of two worse ex-jockeys they could've got to fill the role.

Turner is absolutely abysmal on television. I don't generally agree with the whole "oh, they're only in to fill a quota" (for example, I like Rishi, and I'm glad he's moving over) but there's no way that Turner would be given the job if she were just another male jockey. Having said that, Fitzgerald continues to get work, so who knows.

They must be crazy. ITV Racing a stillbirth.

The only way out of this I can see is for the ITV4 viewing figures proving to be so disastrous (and surely they will be) that ITV try to salvage something by reintroducing a World Of Sport-style show on ITV1 on Saturday afternoons featuring stuff like horse racing and touring cars and Tour de France and whatnot, interspersed with a Soccer Saturday-style live scores and reports feature.

That way they can sack everyone bar Chamberlin and Cumani, the latter pair  will gain something of the air of authority and knowledge the likes of Julian Wilson boasted through not having to pretend to ask questions of a dozen other co-presenters, and costs are cut. Everyone's happy.

What about midweek racing? A Wilson/Carson duo seemed to handle the additional time well enough, even without the benefit of advertising breaks. The point was that any further voices would have implied that the duo in charge somehow needed help and weren't to be trusted.

there was always a chance that the nightmare scenario of fitzy getting a job as one of the bosses used to be a boss at ATR

Speechless at the Fitzgerald news, they can't possibly have done any research whatsoever. Unbelievable

what must jimbo McGrath be thinking when a clown like fitzy gets the gig

How does Fitzy do it, eh?

Answers on a postcard!

Shirley the first name on the team sheet shudda been Hugh Taylor, apparently his webpage gets hundreds of thousands of hits each day, if that's not popularity I don't know what is!

Though I suspect Hugh doesn't need the munny, so probably didn't even apply!

he does seem a nice guy but he is useless at presenting interviewing and punditry.....

HT or fitz?

I always thought HT was good as a pundit on the form factor...1 of the best shows on ATR back in the day before it got carved up

Didn't ITV want Gina Harding?

Very disappointed there will be no Nick Luck.

a HT gem...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LkMKuQ49Cg

thompsom alert for those of a nervous disposition

surprised hugh taylors name has never been mentioned..........I would have gone for gary Obrien..you would have had presenting and punditry covered........don't know if he got an interview

Hopefully Nick will be returning 'home' to RUK on a full time basis!

That's 8 people who have been given jobs which is 4 too many in my view.  What are they all going to do ?
If Fitzgerald has been given a role that involves him speaking, then I can only assume that he is paying ITV for the privilege rather than the other way round.

C4 have been losing viewers. Nearly everyone from there should have been dropped.

Like many things in life,the bosses don't always know best,although they like to think they do.This shows only too well the lack of research done by them.
One of the big problems with ex jockeys is the constant bigging up of their former employers,like other trainers aren't up to it.Add to that the bigging up of jockeys,especially in Hayley's case.She forgets that they are all licensed professionals,but she likes to show favouratism,which is unprofessional.

They can't have done much research in relation to Fitzy. Only Thompson and Mfordy were less popular on here.

mass murderers are more popular on here than fitzy

The way this farce is starting to unfold in front of us, you can't totally rule out a return for Thompson.

or Chapman

wonder if Thompson or chapman got an interview.....Tanya got one and ironically got the impression she was too old....

Reading between the lines I thought Chapman was going to be on the team, and as they haven't announced their "betting expert" yet, maybe he will be?

And John Hunt was being tipped for the commentator's gig

theres no jim McGrath \GC type yet..........surely they are not hoping fitzy can fill that role

Do you think Thompson might be employed as the commentator ?
Perhaps ITV think that.  "wow, it's a photo !!!",  "here comes Frankie",  and the Mystic Meg jokes will go down well with the audience they're looking to attract.

How many more on this Dream Team

Irish drone box ticked.

Has anyone ever had a good word for him on here? Maybe that was the selling point as they are not bothered about pitching to a betfair audience?

I would agree with Howard's comments. They were progressing well enough with some new faces and then suddenly things have taken a nosedive.

Been watching Chapman recently and he looks like a man on edge. Probably thought he was a shoe-in.

How many more 'team' members do they need? 8 is top-heavy, and I wonder wtf they are all going to do.

January is jumps time and Fitzy is one of the best jumps pundits I have seen, tips good winners and helps you avoid the losers - 'honest and genuine'

Hayley Turner is not good on TV - flat delivery, avoids giving a opinion with any conviction and cliched in her assesments - 'effort flattened out'

Rishi Persad is very watchable - but by his own admission his tips are to be avoided, and has got stuck in the emotive interview questions - 'good trier'

Dont know the rest of the selections - so am hopeful for 'a promising seasonal debut'

Fitzy is one of the best jumps pundits I have seen

Need to be a bit more subtle than that Mick

okok=fitzy...............NAP

okok...........backwards is KOKO............the clown

Nap :) Knock out :) ...very good

But I want someone who tells you straight - tricky to find in racing - and he tips plenty of jump winners, you watch and listen - more importantly he will say when he thinks one is not 'on a going day' ... a very useful insight ---- but yes, it would be wise if his work was seasonal and he did not do the Flat

what many people are calling for doesnt even happen on a subscription channel so on itv is very unlikely, another idea which has worked well before (yes this is a positive suggestion so all drains at the ready), is to have a different guest each week from different backgrounds, eg hugh taylor, a trainer, a journalist, an owner etc keeps it fresh with a new insight each week

currently, say on ruk, you pretty much have the same people doing the same boring thing each week, ie lots of waffle and no end product, no proper analysis is jockeyship etc, just lazy production in the absence of competition, well ruk might get away with it but itv wont because they have accountability so new ideas are needed

something a bit different each week (when on ITV1) wrapped around the main coverage sounds good

really hope it works but you need the talent with good ideas to pull it off and I am struggling to see it with the latest appointments

saturday before cheltenham could be a cheltenham preview, could shadow a jockey for week
that yogi breisner feature on RUK was a good 1 something like that would appeal to a wider audience imo

not the same old sheit churned out and recycled over and over again

I suspect if racing on ITV1 is to work it will have to be 1 feature meeting only with gaps in between races for the features
really concentrate on the racing that they show rather than "just another race"

as the itv racing is run by ex employees of ruk and atr, we have fitzy and hayley who by common consent on here are not suitable for the job.

i hope that dave nevison has not been interviewed for betting expert and dave yates for form pundit. 
that would beggar belief.

If replacing the betting representatives with boring and incompetent presenters - what a dilemma for viewers? Mute switch could be working overtime for me, I'm afraid.

I presume the large size of the team means some rotation. e.g. Fitzy on during the winter NH season. They aren't all going to be on at once!

fitz -- a bit like chris evens top gear

everyone knows its a disaster,but the chief executies hav blinkers

evans

Can't understand why they've omitted the top man - Tommo ! He'd brighten things up with "Ho.Ho.Ho, they're not messing about " etc.etc.

Can't really blame the producers responsible for simply copying the current failed faces. If they changed all the personnel and the ratings plummeted, then the producers would get the blame. But if they keep the old faces and format and the ratings are the same as the ones which were too poor to enable Channel 4 to offer as much money for the rights, then the producers can just blame the ITV rights negotiators for offering too much money.

I suppose that we could live in hope that the likes of fitzy may take the view that what he contributed last time was obviously part of the failure .....so he may be stirred into altering what he contributes this time.........but I wouldn't hold my breath!

McCoy and Fitz with their in-jokes about golf --- what's not to like

cant believe it - i mean wtf are they doing?

I was so looking forward to watching something new - and we end up with Fitz.

Gutted !

I actually could not believe to hear the news this morning. I believe the definition of insanity is trying the same hing over and over again and expecting the same result. So let me get this straight.....C4 racing's ratings have been falling and falling over the last few years. So a new broadcaster takes over. Ok.

That new broadcaster starts putting a team together. Surely as part of this they look at reasons why channel 4 ratings have been in decline. And for some reason they then decide to take the very worst parts of the C4 team and believe this will bring about a turnaround???!!! MADNESS

I've said it before and I will say it again. Mick Fitz. Decent bloke by all accounts. Above average jockey. TERRIBLE PUNDIT!!!!!!!!!

Like many racing is main my hobby and I'm not some crank who slates everyone. But I now simply cannot watch the Morning Line or the afternoon show if Mick and a few others are on. Instead I watch RUK/ATR all day. Many others are like me. That is a shocking situation.

So let's get this straight...they are dropping the best bits of C4 (Nick Luck, Jim) and taking the dross. MADNESS

No McCoy according to the guardian. Wonder what that's all about

He said Fitzy will do my head in Im off

most fixtures are on itv4
itv4 is a tiny channel, nobody watches it. nobody knows what number it is.  only has 1/6th the audience share of channel 4.
the vast majority of the population have absolutely no interest in watching horseracing.

hope the ratings projections aren't too ambitious ....

They must be planning an interpreter for Fitz, too many have difficulty working out what he is saying. My mate has adjusted his ear trumpet and consulted the best lip readers money can buy and still cant understand a word he says !

Regarding Mick Fitz, what do the tv people see that most of us have all missed. I am completely stumped.

No more Nick Luck and Jimbo, the two best ones.

Should have been absolutely no one from channel 4 racing..it was a sinking ship and should have been left to sink with all hands on board

most fixtures are on itv4
itv4 is a tiny channel, nobody watches it. nobody knows what number it is.  only has 1/6th the audience share of channel 4.

If they axe re-runs of minder and the professionals to make room for fitzy I ain't going to be a happy bunny

Fitzgerald's agent Jon Holmes said: "At this stage all I can say is Mick will be working for ITV."



Former Sky Sports presenter Ed Chamberlin will be the new host when ITV's racing contract begins on January 1.

He will be assisted by Francesca Cumani, daughter of Newmarket trainer, Luca, during the Flat season.

Hayley Turner, Oli Bell, Sally Ann Grassick and Rishi Persad are other names in the frame when the new era of televised racing begins next year.

This thread proves beyond any doubt that this forum is far more interested in media people than the actual horse racing.

Or they prefer talking about this issue rather than the day-to-day dross that is called horse racing but is actually in the main bookmaker fodder.

They are both "issues" differentdrum. You are simply trying to complicate matters.

http://www.tommoracing.com/about-tommo.php

This is what we are missing!

It's no secret that well-known TV racing presenter Derek Thompson is a regular on the Newmarket gallops, but he's also one of the most frequent visitors to the track – whether it's with Channel 4, Attheraces, commentating or hosting that day's action to the racegoers.

With that in mind and with the array of contacts Derek has built up over the years you can now cash-in on any course info that comes Tommo's way via his new and unique TRACKSIDE SERVICE.

Yes, grab top information direct from the connections or the yards themselves via everyone's favourite racing presenter – and best of all these tips will be sent via a FREE text message direct to your mobile with plenty of time for you to cash-in by obtaining the best price or using the betting exchanges.

How It Works:

Based on the strength of the info Tommo receives bets will warrant a 1-5pt rating.
Sign-up for FREE, then Tommo will text you when he's got something to pass on.
You'll be told before taking the tip the points attached to that horse.
Decide if you want the advice (reply 'BET') – meaning you're in complete control.
You are then charged at just £1 per point should you decide to take the tip.
MAX bets will be 5pts, meaning for just £5 you can grab Tommo's best info.
No money is taken at sign-up & you are under no obligation to take Tommo's bets.

Sure he will have plenty of maximum bets.

AP McCoy (probably) not part of the team.

Good decision.