ITV At It Again

First topic message reminder :

No mention or sympathy to Flannery and his injury just Sheridan and England

If you want attention Miaow, you just have to ask for it, playing up is just going to make you look childish.

miaow wrote:It was mildly amusing the first time greyghost. Now it just looks like a desperate pandering for appreciation. I won't speculate on any Daddy issues but, really, come on mate...it's just embarrassing now.

actually I thought it was quite funny

TheGreyGhost wrote:I can see it now...

"Well, it's 15 minutes to kick off in the rugby world cup final, you can feel the tension in that air and the fans of both teams are in good voice in the stands already for what promises to be a classic encounter between these two rivals. But now, we cross live to the departure lounge at Auckland airport, where the England team are getting ready to board their flight. Fitzy, what do you make of England's preparations for this flight?"

I'd take winning the third place play-off at this stage

I suppose you're getting a bit full of yourself as this will be the first tournament for many a year that NZ wont be flying home early...

...they can drive this time.

theskippingpig wrote:As Rugby fans (and i'm a welsh one) i think we like watching all the games and are interested in the likes of NZ. I have to be honest there is a big mention of England during every broadcast and i really don't see the need. I would say the same if they kept on about Wales, but there again the england seem sem to be doing the right things (or wrong) to get talked about!!!

As you rightly point out, the reason for England getting a mention in today's coverage was because of the Tindall headlines in all the papers, hardly a "big mention" though, a couple of mins at best, and being used to discuss general issues about behaviour & control of national squads on tour in that period. In yesterday's Russia v USA coverage it was Ireland that got the bulk of the attention, 15 mins (and higlights of their '91 match against Aus), with Eng & Wales getting 10 mins each earlier on.

OK, here's a point that, to my knowledge, hasn't yet been made:

If you truly are a rugby supporter then what other teams are doing should interest you. I'm not talking about bungie-jumping and goodwill tours - that is just the sort of pointless ephemera that appeals to Heat readers - I'm talking about tactics, team affairs, and the games themselves.

Why am I getting up at 4am on Sunday morning despite not having had a day off work in three weeks?

Because Wales are playing Samoa.
Because it will be a hell of a game.
Because, while Scotland aren't playing, I still care.

Because I love rugby.

That's what bothers me about the ITV coverage. They assume that if you support England, you won't care two hoots about what the other teams in the tournament are doing. They assume that the Sun rises and sets behind Mike Tindall's big bald head, and that the viewers believe the same. They assume that dwarf tossing and faulty balls are more compelling to rugby supporters than an analysis of England's mis-firing midfield.

In short, ITV have an incredibly low opinion of their viewers, and that really bothers me.

Well spoken IanBru, I made a similar point earlier before the conversation got silly. The annoying thing isn't the pro-England bias, it's the trite nature of the assumptions that the most important thing is what Tindall did in bar, and if Moody went bungy jumping. There's absolutely nothing on more interesting stuff about various team rugby strategy. I've seen nothing at all about what the Aussies are up to, and they're the second favourites...

IanBru
You are a genuine rugby fan and the coverage is not aimed at us they want to target the alleged millions who only watch world cups...
But I would have thought common sense would have told them that your casual viewer would not be watching rugby in the early hours of the morning.
It's just idle journalism they cant be bothered to do any research on the other nations.

Agree with Cymroglan's first point. True rugby fans are going to watch. World Cup fans are going to need convincing and this is who the "pro-English" coverage is aimed at. I'll discuss England's misfiring midfield with my dad or whoever I'm watching the match with, but the part-time fans want to know about Wilkinson, they want to know about what they've read in the tabloids, they need history lessons (eg Australia Vs Ireland in 1991) and they need the hype and speculation, not the in-depth analysis that they won't understand and will just turn them off.

It's a bid to get ratings. It's not offering us England fans some special level of analysis that other nations are missing out on. They are trying to convert the casual viewer into an avid viewer, for the duration of the tournament at least. There a more English casual viewers watching ITV than from any over nation, so they appeal to them.

Personally I think old Larry Dayglo has been doing a pretty good job of trying to be a neutral pundit. It's obviously tough for him, being such a staunch England man, but he's making a great effort to hold his tongue and say constructive things. Definite improvement for him since day one, when he looked about as comfortable as Slade lining up a shot at goal from out in front. To me, watching him grow into punditry is possibly the most interesting thing in the inter-game rambling, which content wise has been dribble.

IanBru wrote:OK, here's a point that, to my knowledge, hasn't yet been made:

If you truly are a rugby supporter then what other teams are doing should interest you. I'm not talking about bungie-jumping and goodwill tours - that is just the sort of pointless ephemera that appeals to Heat readers - I'm talking about tactics, team affairs, and the games themselves.

Why am I getting up at 4am on Sunday morning despite not having had a day off work in three weeks?

Because Wales are playing Samoa.
Because it will be a hell of a game.
Because, while Scotland aren't playing, I still care.

Because I love rugby.

That's what bothers me about the ITV coverage. They assume that if you support England, you won't care two hoots about what the other teams in the tournament are doing. They assume that the Sun rises and sets behind Mike Tindall's big bald head, and that the viewers believe the same. They assume that dwarf tossing and faulty balls are more compelling to rugby supporters than an analysis of England's mis-firing midfield.

In short, ITV have an incredibly low opinion of their viewers, and that really bothers me.

Brilliant post

totally agree ian bru, excellent post

IanBru wrote:They assume that dwarf tossing and faulty balls are more compelling to rugby supporters than an analysis of England's mis-firing midfield.

As much as I agree with the sentiments of your post IanBru, in relation to the above section it's interesting to note that one of the most contributed posts on this forum today has been the one on Tindall. With all the press the incident has been getting, if ITV hadn't given it it's 2 mins people probably would have been writing posts that they are glossing over English player indiscretions.

What I don't understand is why the posters on here who live in Wales and Ireland are bothering to watch ITV in the first place. If I had RTE or SC4 (and could understand Welsh) I would be tuned into them, ITV have been setting poor standards in WC broadcasting for 20 years, just because Rosenthal had been dropped did people think it would be that much better? I really wish they didn't have the host broadcasting rights for 2015.

niwatts

RTE and S4C don't have full coverage, only a few matches. I imagine the majority of Irish or Welsh fans would watch their nations' games on their home broadcaster over RTE. Another reason ITV will try to build up England games, because England games will only be shown on ITV.

robbo277 wrote:niwatts

RTE and S4C don't have full coverage, only a few matches. I imagine the majority of Irish or Welsh fans would watch their nations' games on their home broadcaster over RTE. Another reason ITV will try to build up England games, because England games will only be shown on ITV.

Really surprised, i am in canada and they have every game including replays

robbo,

That is true, I watched the Welsh ITV and commentary and it was cr** but I taped the national coverage and it was much better including the, was it or not penalty coverage.

Gatts wrote:

robbo277 wrote:niwatts

RTE and S4C don't have full coverage, only a few matches. I imagine the majority of Irish or Welsh fans would watch their nations' games on their home broadcaster over RTE. Another reason ITV will try to build up England games, because England games will only be shown on ITV.

Really surprised, i am in canada and they have every game including replays

Who have every game in Canada? I can't speak Welsh, but looking at the TV guide for S4C tomorrow on Sky there is no rugby on tomorrow on that channel. There is no programming at all at 4am, when the Argentina match is on. Just checked online (can't get RTE on Sky in England) and RTE have "130 hours" of coverage, which I suppose is enough for the whole tournament, so I'm prepared to be corrected on that.

http://www.tsn.ca/rugby/feature/?id=47571

What I meant is that ITV are the only broadcaster available in the UK that will show all the games. Should have been clearer.

robbo277 wrote:What I meant is that ITV are the only broadcaster available in the UK that will show all the games. Should have been clearer.

What about the channel Islands eh? Typical arrogance from the Queens serfs in the UK ignoring the Bailiwicks

More mentions of Matt Banahana

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

robbo277 wrote:What I meant is that ITV are the only broadcaster available in the UK that will show all the games. Should have been clearer.

What about the channel Islands eh? Typical arrogance from the Queens serfs in the UK ignoring the Bailiwicks

More mentions of Matt Banahana

They can jog on after Guernsey beat us in the opening week.

This is the first day I have watched the itv coverage.

It is appalling....!

maestegmafia wrote:This is the first day I have watched the itv coverage.

It is appalling....!

I know, did you hear when Tom Court came on for Mike Ross at the end and the commentator called him "Mike Ford"? Any excuse to name the England defence coach.

robbo277 wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:This is the first day I have watched the itv coverage.

It is appalling....!

I know, did you hear when Tom Court came on for Mike Ross at the end and the commentator called him "Mike Ford"? Any excuse to name the England defence coach.

Yep and the most important stat was he used to play for harlequins.

Who the hell cares.

Thank god itv have the decency to not call this an upset. Though to be fair they know so little about rugby, they would struggle to find a conclusion.

I listened to R5's show from Thursday evening.

The First 30-40 mins dwelt on Wales. the next 20-30 on Ireland.

About 25 mins on England.

Scotland got short shrift though.

Nothing on France or Italy.

Portnoy wrote:I listened to R5's show from Thursday evening.

The First 30-40 mins dwelt on Wales. the next 20-30 on Ireland.

About 25 mins on England.

Scotland got short shrift though.

Nothing on France or Italy.

Cheers I'll check it out on iPlayer.

Unfortunately it seems itv have based their programming model on the awful sky sports rugby show rather than the Far superior BBC.

The interview with Paul O'Connell is just insulting...!

IanBru wrote:OK, here's a point that, to my knowledge, hasn't yet been made:

If you truly are a rugby supporter then what other teams are doing should interest you. I'm not talking about bungie-jumping and goodwill tours - that is just the sort of pointless ephemera that appeals to Heat readers - I'm talking about tactics, team affairs, and the games themselves.

Why am I getting up at 4am on Sunday morning despite not having had a day off work in three weeks?

Because Wales are playing Samoa.
Because it will be a hell of a game.
Because, while Scotland aren't playing, I still care.

Because I love rugby.

That's what bothers me about the ITV coverage. They assume that if you support England, you won't care two hoots about what the other teams in the tournament are doing. They assume that the Sun rises and sets behind Mike Tindall's big bald head, and that the viewers believe the same. They assume that dwarf tossing and faulty balls are more compelling to rugby supporters than an analysis of England's mis-firing midfield.

In short, ITV have an incredibly low opinion of their viewers, and that really bothers me.

tecphobe wrote:

IanBru wrote:OK, here's a point that, to my knowledge, hasn't yet been made:

If you truly are a rugby supporter then what other teams are doing should interest you. I'm not talking about bungie-jumping and goodwill tours - that is just the sort of pointless ephemera that appeals to Heat readers - I'm talking about tactics, team affairs, and the games themselves.

Why am I getting up at 4am on Sunday morning despite not having had a day off work in three weeks?

Because Wales are playing Samoa.
Because it will be a hell of a game.
Because, while Scotland aren't playing, I still care.

Because I love rugby.

That's what bothers me about the ITV coverage. They assume that if you support England, you won't care two hoots about what the other teams in the tournament are doing. They assume that the Sun rises and sets behind Mike Tindall's big bald head, and that the viewers believe the same. They assume that dwarf tossing and faulty balls are more compelling to rugby supporters than an analysis of England's mis-firing midfield.

In short, ITV have an incredibly low opinion of their viewers, and that really bothers me.

Well said...!