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Irish Racing moves to RUK

Faugheen_Machine

Faugheen_Machine

Legendary Fat Jockey, Patron (est. Jan 2021) & Mod
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I can't see how this is a good move. It could be a disaster for Irish racing.
 
Faugheen_Machine said:
I can't see how this is a good move. It could be a disaster for Irish racing.
Click to expand...

It's an absolute disaster for Irish racing and the sport. RUK will probably have to add a channel, one UK only and one for a mixture of UK,Ireland and , maybe France and charge for each channel individually with a package deal for both; otherwise it will be split screen for most races. Following hard on the heels of the GBI and international rights announcements (clearly timed to be in the same week) this has not been a good week for racing fans in the UK or internationally.

I am trying not to pre-judge (failing, obviously) but am feeling pretty despondent about this right now. We shall see.....
 
Bayoffreedom said:
It's an absolute disaster for Irish racing and the sport. RUK will probably have to add a channel, one UK only and one for a mixture of UK,Ireland and , maybe France and charge for each channel individually with a package deal for both; otherwise it will be split screen for most races. Following hard on the heels of the GBI and international rights announcements (clearly timed to be in the same week) this has not been a good week for racing fans in the UK or internationally.

I am trying not to pre-judge (failing, obviously) but am feeling pretty despondent about this right now. We shall see.....
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I share those feelings BoF. They'll have to add a channel otherwise it'll be a nightmare for the viewer. I fear this is probably the end for ATR.
 
They do have the "interactive" feature at the moment where you can watch full coverage from one track.... maybe that is how they'll split things?

"High profile" and "the rest"

They must have thought it through??? :confused:
 
Kevloaf said:
They do have the "interactive" feature at the moment where you can watch full coverage from one track.... maybe that is how they'll split things?

"High profile" and "the rest"

They must have thought it through??? :confused:
Click to expand...

I didn't know this Kev. Is that through the red button?
 
Looks a strange call but scant on detail - if RUK confirmed it was on a new FTA channel then might make little difference to the viewer. If Irish racing behind a paywall then it looks like there may be a lack of “joined up thinking” by decision makers. Either way disappointed for ATR and people who work there - they are best promoters Irish racing have,
 
I have already condemned this on another forum. Unfortunately, there appears a pretty selfish 'i'm alright jack' element to that forum.

ATR have done an excellent job of promoting and presenting Irish racing and this is their reward. It beggars belief that anyone would make such a ridiculous decision.

I like to think I look at this as a punter and a long-time lover of the sport. It is shocking that other like-minded people will now be priced out of seeing Irish racing.

The subscription for RUK is already much too high for a stand alone channel and no doubt it will be considerably higher in the future.

How is it good for racing that one channel has all the 'rubbish' and the other one has more than it can possibly cope with?
 
There is a letter in today's Post which basically suggests that people shouldn't expect to receive Irish Racing without subscription and should just get on and pay. Sadly, there are probably a number of fat wallets amongst RUK subscribers who have a similar attitude - I can afford it, to hell with everyone else. The people who made this decision are probably cut from the same cloth.

RUK likes to promote itself as the industry channel but so far O'Leary, McManus and Mullins have all spoken out against the change. Arguably, they are the most significant figures in Irish racing.

Not surprisingly, Ted Walsh, has taken a different attitude, his son having made very easy money out of RUK subscribers for many years. No doubt he will hoping to line his pockets even more with this change.
 
I won't subscribe to sports channels on principal, I can afford it but millions can't, and they are fans too, it's come to this for anything that attracts viewers these days and one thing they all have in common is the number of hugely overpaid presenters they feel they need, I'm sure RUK will be able to find a slot for Claire Balding, every other sport seems to, and this is the only one she knows anything about
 
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