Brekkie post_id=21958 time= user_id=976 Wrote:Watching Queens this week in the wake of the French Open on ITV4 and I really do think the BBC's tennis coverage looks so tired and dated compared not just to their competitors but also to what BBC Sport does elsewhere - the football has a real energy to it this time now the likes of Hansen and Lawrenson have moved on, and the same is the case for most sports.

Tennis though feels like it is stuck at least a generation behind with most their flagship pundits being from the last century. Seeing Sue talking to Peter Fleming and John Lloyd at Queens the other day just felt like a timewarp back to the 80s or 90s. It isn't Sue that's the problem - it's the people they put around her. Looking at their list only Marion Bartoli and Anne Keothavong feel like names relatively recently involved in the sport - and both of those retired nearly a decade ago.

Brekkie post_id=21958 time= user_id=976 Wrote:I also think Wimbledon itself needs to look at on court interviews for the experience of both viewers at home and the fans in the stadium. They're the only slam that doesn't do them and it feels like they lose alot as a result, especially now the crowds are back.

RhysJR post_id=21924 time= user_id=1340 Wrote:The BBC Wimbledon press release

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2021/wimbledon
Off top of my head, Miles MacLagan, Alison Mitchell, David Law, Katherine Downes & Andy Stevenson are the new TV names off the top of my head, most of those familiar to the radio coverage.

thegeek post_id=22013 time= user_id=1372 Wrote:

RhysJR post_id=21924 time= user_id=1340 Wrote:The BBC Wimbledon press release

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2021/wimbledon
Off top of my head, Miles MacLagan, Alison Mitchell, David Law, Katherine Downes & Andy Stevenson are the new TV names off the top of my head, most of those familiar to the radio coverage.

David Law did plenty of WTA on BT Sport, and I think Katherine Downes presented some cricket for them.

dvboy post_id=22078 time= user_id=1528 Wrote:You're all correct above about Alison Mitchell, David Law and Katherine Downes.
Miles Maclagan has worked for Eurosport for years, so not new at all to TV commentary.

Anyway, that press release from the BBC today has at least one error, as Mark Petchey won't be working on Wimbledon coverage.

I agree with the earlier comments about Queen's coverage on the BBC being dated, it also looks like it's done on a budget, and Amazon Prime Video clearly have the money to invest in presentation and big names to add to the coverage.

One thing that would help the BBC would be if it didn't hide the first hour of its coverage under the red button every day, but I suspect that's a contractual agreement as secondary rights holder.

The BBC's coverage of Eastbourne next week should be better, personnel-wise, with an all-female commentary team.

RhysJR post_id=22033 time= user_id=1340 Wrote:Can't remember Katherine Downes doing cricket but Alison Mitchell has done plenty of cricket for the BBC and beyond.

RhysJR post_id=22033 time= user_id=1340 Wrote:Can't remember Katherine Downes doing cricket but Alison Mitchell has done plenty of cricket for the BBC and beyond.

thebigdog2020 post_id=22182 time=1624017182 user_id=1596 Wrote:Premier Sports retain rights for the United Rugby Championship

Headlines
* Every game live on Premier Sports
* Exclusive coverage of 100 matches across UK
* All Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors games shown live both home and away. 34 out of 36 Scottish Games exclusively live on its channels.
* Every Ulster Rugby game live game plus every Ulster away game exclusively live on Premier Sports
* Live coverage of every South African and Italian game home and away

Reading between the lines especially after the RTE/TG4 rights announcement in Ireland that it may lead to BBC Alba/Scotland, BBC Wales & BBC NI coming back into the fold and probably an extension of rights for S4C.

https://premiersports.com/sports/pro14/urc-x-premier-sports

Rdd post_id=22221 time= user_id=1409 Wrote:It unfortunately seems to mean that the Scots are not going to have a FTA partner for most matches with 34/36 matches exclusive to Premier (presumably the two that aren’t are the derbies and perhaps there is a deal with BBC Scotland/Alba just for those games).

Premier will now have U.K. and Irish rights following eir Sport’s closure, so their coverage will no longer be geoblocked in Ireland.

My understanding is that BBC NI will have Ulster’s home games, and there will be some sort of FTA partner in Wales (BBC Wales or S4C).

RhysJR post_id=22207 time= user_id=1340 Wrote:Sky Sports Golf presenter Sarah Stirk comes out as a gay woman?
Congratulations to her

RhysJR post_id=22084 time= user_id=1340 Wrote:

dvboy post_id=22078 time= user_id=1528 Wrote:You're all correct above about Alison Mitchell, David Law and Katherine Downes.
Miles Maclagan has worked for Eurosport for years, so not new at all to TV commentary.

Anyway, that press release from the BBC today has at least one error, as Mark Petchey won't be working on Wimbledon coverage.

I agree with the earlier comments about Queen's coverage on the BBC being dated, it also looks like it's done on a budget, and Amazon Prime Video clearly have the money to invest in presentation and big names to add to the coverage.

One thing that would help the BBC would be if it didn't hide the first hour of its coverage under the red button every day, but I suspect that's a contractual agreement as secondary rights holder.

The BBC's coverage of Eastbourne next week should be better, personnel-wise, with an all-female commentary team.

Mentioning Miles on Eurosport has alerted me to the fact that Jo Durie, also a Eurosport regular, is sadly absent from the BBC press release. Always a good value commentator IMO and a shame if she has been left out by BBC Sport.

dvboy post_id=22441 time= user_id=1528 Wrote:Add Jo Durie to the list of the BBC's Wimbledon commentators, she has confirmed on twitter she will be doing it. That's two errors in their press release so far.