Harness Racing needs something better than Sky 1

[Messenger]

This partly duplicates some other threads but their titles did not say what I wanted.
Elsewhere Kyle (Amlin) has pointed out that we have an exclusive contract with Sky but the sooner we can renegotiate this the better.
Elsewhere I have also sung the praises of the comprehensive coverage that gallops Vic now broadcasts via its racing.com (which is duplicated on Ch68/78 and Sky 522)
We are not likely to have our own Ch like the gallops do, in the foreseeable future but if we can get out of our exclusive contract we could be streaming like racing.com as well as Sky (and who knows, maybe we might get our own Foxtel ch for it too)
Nowadays to keep you paying top $ most internet providers are giving us more data than we can use so the idea of streaming no longer raises the concerns it once had

Just watching the first from Stawell on Sky 1 (yep I piked it due to the heat, not really a big fan of crowds either) the caller was about to say that they had broken the Track Record but he got cut off mid sentence so that we could rush to Kembla gallops

This is basically BARE BONES COVERAGE. We need much better. At harness.com (or some such future domain like racing.com) we would have not only let the caller finish but would then have had an interview with the trainer or connections and the driver, followed by a replay and analysis before moving on to an extensive preview of the next with parade ring coverage and interviews etc etc

MAKE IT HAPPEN HARNESS ADMINISTRATORS

[Messenger]

It must have been a premonition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We missed more than the first half of the STAWELL CUP

for a Sunshine Coast gallops race that was running 6min late and started after Stawell's designated time

Sky offered apologies full of crap and posted the race was on Sky 2 before getting us to Stawell for the last lap

LETS SEE IF HRV HAVE ANY BALLS AND GET SOMETHING DONE ABOUT THIS

The very least they need to do is to have Sky 2 made part of Foxtel's basic package (not obligatory to pay for Fox Sports)

Opinions people?

[Amlin]

It must have been a premonition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We missed more than the first half of the STAWELL CUP

for a Sunshine Coast gallops race that was running 6min late and started after Stawell's designated time

Sky offered apologies full of crap and posted the race was on Sky 2 before getting us to Stawell for the last lap

LETS SEE IF HRV HAVE ANY BALLS AND GET SOMETHING DONE ABOUT THIS

The very least they need to do is to have Sky 2 made part of Foxtel's basic package (not obligatory to pay for Fox Sports)

Opinions people?

A lot comes down to cost. The racing.com style coverage would be well beyond the trots budget. I asked two years ago at a state forum about employing a parade ring cameraman at Melton to film the parade which could form part of an extended cover on Sky 2 running parallel with Sky 1. I was told it would cost $800 a meet and that cost was prohibitive.

Forgive my directness but I doubt too many more practical or logical ideas to increase turnover so easily would have been discussed by the board since.

[Amlin]

Slightly unrelated but the Seven network will telecast Sunday's Inter Final live from Gloucester Park on the 7mate channel (5pm Melbourne time apparently)

[Messenger]

A little birdie told me that HRV had sought a response from Sky as to the Stawell Cup debacle and that it will be made public - I wonder when we are going to hear something. Seems to me that after 10 days and Xmas fast approaching - we will be lucky to hear anything. It certainly would seem that there is no urgency - here's an idea HRV : tell Sky "We (ie you) want a reply by tomorrow!" I don't know how you can stand to be treated like crap

[hillbillydeluxe]

I totally agree 100% there needs to be a dedicated stand alone channel which could display all races, breeding news and on track parade etc. Many years ago you could watch the then Harold Park replays on I think it was the ABC (I remember it as channel 2 back then) at night around 11-30pm.
As we all know the sport is a good product if presented well and we need people to enter the industry as new owners/breeders/punters. I guess if the clubs paid a levy with the governing bodies and you had a small fee to be paid similarly to Foxtel you can subscribe. Its really imperative that the Industry does support this incentive to have a stand alone broadcast similar to its counterparts at Sky and no doubt you would have to seek advice on when current contracts expire and so forth but in all seriousness if someone really wanted to follow through with this please drop me a message as I do have minor contacts in the media and perhaps we could get the ball rolling on establishing coverage and costs and putting it out into the Industry to actually see who would support the channel.

[hillbillydeluxe]

It has taken time but on all my research speaking with the foxtel channel Aurora and editing companies that could provide audio feed etc if on average industry participants would invest as little as $10 each they could have there own independent HARNESS RACING channel which could stream live racing from all states into your homes.
Geographically it would take time to organise but there is true depth that it could happen.

[Messenger]

Of course the worry would be whether we can afford not to be part of the big dance (Sky 1) It would have to be as well as this
I am wondering when we are EVER going to hear what reply HRV got from Sky over the Stawell Cup debacle
You said it would be so Cody, you have not visited or at least posted for a while.

[Amlin]

Apparently a debacle with the telecast of race two at Cranbourne tonight.

I was out but I listened to the race instead.

Something to do with a late horse race and Sky 2 showing a pre recorded program instead.

[Messenger]

It is time for Sky 2 to become part of Foxtel's basic package. I am one of those people that only subscribe to the Sport Package during the football season.
It irks me that when they shaft a race to Sky 2 they seem to assume that everybody can just change channels. Let's not forget that for whatever reason, it is they that are not delivering on Sky 1 what they advertise.
I know to jump on the computer and get Sky 2 that way but there is not always enough warning