1. BBC OBs have retained the facilities contract, as they did when ITV got the rights to Formula 1. (Yep the BBC provide all the OB facilities for ITV1's location presentation in Europe, and in years gone by have covered the British Grand Prix for ITV1 as host broadcasters, though I think F1 may now provider their own coverage?)
F1 (or FOM tv) supply coverage to certain races in the calendar. Australia is one, as are the other races in Bahrain, Turkey, USA, Canada, China, and Brazil.
The European races are still covered by the respective broadcasters - although this can cause aggro with us F1 petrolheads. Witness the horrible world feed coverage provided by TF1 last year. You would think that there were only two cars on the track for 85% of the race.
Here are the details of the radio coverage
LBC is making history this year...as the official radio station of the 2005 Boat Race - between Oxford and Cambridge Universities. It's the first time since the event was first broadcast in 1927 that it's been on commercial radio.
This year the race takes place around 3 o'clock on Easter Sunday, March 27th - from it's traditional starting point at Putney along the River Thames to Mortlake.
Tune in to 97.3FM for a LIVE extravaganza throughout the day though - Patrick O'Connell (7-10am), Paul Ross (10-12pm) and Sandi Toksvig (12-2pm) will all be broadcasting LIVE from Hammersmith in the build up to the race.
John Cushing will be joined by Dan Snow, former Oxford rower and son of Peter and Cambridge winner and Olympian Rick Dunn between 2 and 5pm. We'll also have a team of reporters in Putney, Hammersmith and Mortlake to give you a taste of the atmostphere of this great London event - Sandy Warr will even be on the water!
This time last year there were lots of ITV producers "casting an eye" over the BBC OBs/BBC Sport coverage and muttering that they couldn't afford this and couldn't afford that.
Be interesting to see if :
1. BBC OBs have retained the facilities contract, as they did when ITV got the rights to Formula 1. (Yep the BBC provide all the OB facilities for ITV1's location presentation in Europe, and in years gone by have covered the British Grand Prix for ITV1 as host broadcasters, though I think F1 may now provider their own coverage?)
2. Whether the facilities this year are retained over the following couple of years. ITV will no doubt try to better the Beeb's coverage of last year, but whether this is the case next year or the year after remains to be seen.
Historically the Beeb have always thrown resources at the coverage - it is quite tricky to cover as it requires lots of radio cameras, specialist micro-cams and micro-radio links, clever stabilised lenses, Gyro stabilised helicopter camerass, and a production team who know what they are doing. Be interesting to see how ITV cover it over the next few years - I suspect this year's ratings will dictate next year's budget?
Of course if ITV buy in BBC OBs then they will get most of this...
ITV floats a few racy ideas
They say it takes 800 hours of training to be fit for the University Boat Race, and I am starting to think this applies to the television crew as well as the oarsmen. Next Sunday, the 151st Boat Race will be ITV's first, and we plan to make some significant changes.
For a start, we have done away with that dreary stretch of water between Putney and Mortlake in favour of a section of the Thames littered with landmarks. Sunday's race will start next to the London Eye, sweep grandly past the Houses of Parliament, skulk beneath the MI5 building before finishing with a flourish in front of the grand towers of Battersea Power Station. Our new theme tune, a specially commissioned piece by So Solid Crew, will capture the modern urban feel of the production. Not all of our innovations will be popular, although I firmly believe that allowing Ant and Dec to cox the two boats shows the extent to which the two universities have bought into our bold new vision for the race.
We do not want to run before we can walk, so plans to hold regional semi-finals, encouraging new entrants into the Boat Race, have been shelved until next year. It may take even longer to persuade the race organisers to follow the example of the England football team and take the event around the country, although Liverpool City Council has responded encouragingly to our suggestion of holding the race on the Mersey.
Of course not all of the above is true. In fact none of it is, though scepticism persists over commercial stations broadcasting the nation's sporting jewels, despite the success of Channel 4's cricket coverage and Sky's football output. Taking over the Boat Race contract poses a major broadcasting challenge, particularly as the previous incumbent had 66 years to get it right.
So there will be innovations, all subtle and in keeping with the great tradition of the race. Steve Rider presented the BBC's coverage from the frequently windswept banks of the Thames; Gabby Logan will front ours from a purpose-built studio on the roof of Imperial College Boat Club.
In the past, cameras on board the boats often fell victim to the weather. A new all-digital wireless system means no amount of rain should stop the pictures getting back to the bank. The outside broadcast, with 37 cameras over four and a quarter miles, may be the biggest mounted in the UK this year. Some of those cameras have been placed in new and significant positions, particularly one mounted on the front of the umpire's launch. Last year's controversial race, in which the crews clashed, was only decided after an appeal to the umpire. This year, for the first time, the viewer will be able to see key incidents as they appear to the man in charge.
Despite all this, viewing figures for the race will fall. Last year the event started at 6pm, a perfect time to maximise the audience. This year the tides dictate that the race gets underway just after 3pm, when there is not the same available audience. Mind you, more people may tune in when they hear we have changed the rules to allow each boat to deliberately sink the other.
Tony Pastor
Producer, the University Boat Race on ITV
Here are the details of the radio coverage
LBC is making history this year...as the official radio station of the 2005 Boat Race - between Oxford and Cambridge Universities. It's the first time since the event was first broadcast in 1927 that it's been on commercial radio.
This year the race takes place around 3 o'clock on Easter Sunday, March 27th - from it's traditional starting point at Putney along the River Thames to Mortlake.
Tune in to 97.3FM for a LIVE extravaganza throughout the day though - Patrick O'Connell (7-10am), Paul Ross (10-12pm) and Sandi Toksvig (12-2pm) will all be broadcasting LIVE from Hammersmith in the build up to the race.
John Cushing will be joined by Dan Snow, former Oxford rower and son of Peter and Cambridge winner and Olympian Rick Dunn between 2 and 5pm. We'll also have a team of reporters in Putney, Hammersmith and Mortlake to give you a taste of the atmostphere of this great London event - Sandy Warr will even be on the water!
Think they've given far too much emphasis on this.
Let's face it - no-one really gives a toss .LBC more often than not have their priorities when it comes to coverage of stories.
I understand that it's a Sunday and bugger all happens on LBC then anyway, but surely a bit over emphasising that they're the "official radio station" for the event.
Blimey even ITN did a better job in all the years they had the damn station!
I see that BBC News24 appears to be covering the event with extensive reports of it. I wonder how they'll do the race itself, a vain attempt at taking ITV's thunder I suspect.