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Thread: Sky

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    Got A Season Ticket palmorr's Avatar
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    I recently cancelled my SKY sports subscription
    So I have just spent the last week rewatching all the Saints games I recorded over
    The last three years.
    Two observations struck me.

    Firstly, how fantastic Saints where last year!

    Secondly, how rubbish the Sky presenters are!
    The amount of bullshit that Clark spouts.......!

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    I have not cancelled mine but you are right. RL is in a terrible state presentation wise! The chuckle brothers Baz and Tez, Bill "Ray Charles" Arthur, just woeful. Premiership football with droning Tyler and Carra and Nev is frankly just as mind numbing. It needs a big shake up SKY.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cyprus View Post
    I have not cancelled mine but you are right. RL is in a terrible state presentation wise! The chuckle brothers Baz and Tez, Bill "Ray Charles" Arthur, just woeful. Premiership football with droning Tyler and Carra and Nev is frankly just as mind numbing. It needs a big shake up SKY.
    Can't disagree with that, it's not just RL by a long chalk, that Mike Webberburn on SSN annoys me too although his job is as secure as fort knox given the current goings on. I also had the misfortune to have the Netball on for about 5 minutes the other day before I realised, that sounded like a group of ••••ed women on a night out. The Cricket is crap and the Golf isn't that great either.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cyprus View Post
    I have not cancelled mine but you are right. RL is in a terrible state presentation wise! The chuckle brothers Baz and Tez, Bill "Ray Charles" Arthur, just woeful. Premiership football with droning Tyler and Carra and Nev is frankly just as mind numbing. It needs a big shake up SKY.
    I watch a lot of NRL on Fox Sports and it’s not just on the field where they are light years in front of us the commentary and presentation puts us to shame Plus the ads for the big games are brilliant

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    Got A Season Ticket palmorr's Avatar
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    You are right about a shake up being needed!
    The thing that got me was the fact that they have been doing it for years
    I had matches going back to 2017.
    They don't seem to have changed!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angry Dave View Post
    Can't disagree with that, it's not just RL by a long chalk, that Mike Webberburn on SSN annoys me too although his job is as secure as fort knox given the current goings on. I also had the misfortune to have the Netball on for about 5 minutes the other day before I realised, that sounded like a group of ••••ed women on a night out. The Cricket is crap and the Golf isn't that great either.
    I like the Golf coverage, it is streaks ahead of the American Coverage bar Mark Roe who is a bore.

    Don't know if anyone has caught the EFL coverage which is really close to the Rugby League coverage in its banality. Most of the former footballers sound like they hate the game, Andy Hinchcliffe being the worst culprit.

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    Quote Originally Posted by barry View Post
    I like the Golf coverage, it is streaks ahead of the American Coverage bar Mark Roe who is a bore.

    Don't know if anyone has caught the EFL coverage which is really close to the Rugby League coverage in its banality. Most of the former footballers sound like they hate the game, Andy Hinchcliffe being the worst culprit.

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    That's true regarding the golf, I was watching it with the yank commentary last week and had to turn it off. I've just been watching the EPL games but not paid much attention to the build up/half time/commentary, no doubt that will start annoying me now.

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    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk Belgian Saint's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Angry Dave View Post
    That's true regarding the golf, I was watching it with the yank commentary last week and had to turn it off. I've just been watching the EPL games but not paid much attention to the build up/half time/commentary, no doubt that will start annoying me now.
    The European Golf coverage is far better than the US, they don't know when to shut up and to stop telling you what the golfers are doing wrong. Can't stand Butch Harmon, but when it comes to dross, I think Clarke and co are top of the heap.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BbrookTM View Post
    I watch a lot of NRL on Fox Sports and it’s not just on the field where they are light years in front of us the commentary and presentation puts us to shame Plus the ads for the big games are brilliant
    And the KFC ads always make me hungry too haha

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    One of the main reasons the sport of Rugby League in this country hasn't taken off with Super League is Sky. When it first came out the coverage was fresh and exciting and there was an upsurge in viewing figures. Since then, bar the two dinosaur commentators being replaced by terrible Northern parodies and Phil Clarke's margin meter abomination, it's remained the same but with less of everything.

    If I were Sky I'd get Andrew Voss over. He makes a run of the mill dead rubber game between two no-hopers feel like it matters. His enthusiasm is infectious. They also need a competent host team in the studio with a panel of celebrities and experts with them each week and when choosing them, look for those with media skills and something to say. Chris Kamara was a positive when he was on, although the idiots he was on with tried to turn it into a sketch show.

    As a sport we also need to insist on Sky adding us to their hype machine. On the Sky News channel, which a massive amount of pubs just have on when there is no live sport, you almost never see RL. We should be banging the door down with content for them to show, bombarding them with professionally recorded clips and stories. Positive, promotional stories not Baz and Tez cringe fests.

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    Excellent post.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Saddened! View Post
    One of the main reasons the sport of Rugby League in this country hasn't taken off with Super League is Sky. When it first came out the coverage was fresh and exciting and there was an upsurge in viewing figures. Since then, bar the two dinosaur commentators being replaced by terrible Northern parodies and Phil Clarke's margin meter abomination, it's remained the same but with less of everything.

    If I were Sky I'd get Andrew Voss over. He makes a run of the mill dead rubber game between two no-hopers feel like it matters. His enthusiasm is infectious. They also need a competent host team in the studio with a panel of celebrities and experts with them each week and when choosing them, look for those with media skills and something to say. Chris Kamara was a positive when he was on, although the idiots he was on with tried to turn it into a sketch show.

    As a sport we also need to insist on Sky adding us to their hype machine. On the Sky News channel, which a massive amount of pubs just have on when there is no live sport, you almost never see RL. We should be banging the door down with content for them to show, bombarding them with professionally recorded clips and stories. Positive, promotional stories not Baz and Tez cringe fests.
    Spot on, those 2 clowns need getting rid of ASAP, more so than Clarke as tedious as he is. I'm not sure about this "hype machine" as I've said I find most of Sky Sports commentary pretty poor/cringeworthy. I agree with your point about pushing ourselves on SSN, I quite often have on in the back ground and RL rarely gets more than a brief mention.

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    Watching the football on amazon prime now, great set up

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    Quote Originally Posted by Saddened! View Post
    One of the main reasons the sport of Rugby League in this country hasn't taken off with Super League is Sky. When it first came out the coverage was fresh and exciting and there was an upsurge in viewing figures. Since then, bar the two dinosaur commentators being replaced by terrible Northern parodies and Phil Clarke's margin meter abomination, it's remained the same but with less of everything.

    If I were Sky I'd get Andrew Voss over. He makes a run of the mill dead rubber game between two no-hopers feel like it matters. His enthusiasm is infectious. They also need a competent host team in the studio with a panel of celebrities and experts with them each week and when choosing them, look for those with media skills and something to say. Chris Kamara was a positive when he was on, although the idiots he was on with tried to turn it into a sketch show.

    As a sport we also need to insist on Sky adding us to their hype machine. On the Sky News channel, which a massive amount of pubs just have on when there is no live sport, you almost never see RL. We should be banging the door down with content for them to show, bombarding them with professionally recorded clips and stories. Positive, promotional stories not Baz and Tez cringe fests.
    Voss’s commentary for the Maika Sivo try the other week was gold! ‘Call an ambulance, maybe call a priest!’

    https://youtu.be/7TTPkXmNwSI
    Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.

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    Voss calling a match with the Rabbitohs. Think they needed 2 tries in 2 or 3 mins to win.

    Low and behold Rabbitohs get the point and Vossy shouts "TAKE ME NOW, IVE SEEN IT ALL"

    Great commentary by some one who genuinely loves the game and bigs its up every time hes calling a game.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sinkers89 View Post
    Voss calling a match with the Rabbitohs. Think they needed 2 tries in 2 or 3 mins to win.

    Low and behold Rabbitohs get the point and Vossy shouts "TAKE ME NOW, IVE SEEN IT ALL"

    Great commentary by some one who genuinely loves the game and bigs its up every time hes calling a game.
    I also love the way he handles errors. "Gee it doesn't look forward, but on we go, the Panthers under the pump here..." from Voss with one replay. Whereas here you'd have the commentator moan on the first replay, Phil Clarke moan at the second replay, Baz or Tez moan at the third replay and then Cummings or whoever the 'expert' ref is agreeing with the referee using some weird interpretation, whilst I either Tweet abuse to Sky about the commentators or the RFL referees handle about the ref.

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    Starting A Programme Collection Roger Moore's Avatar
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    Has anyone else noticed on Sky Sports News, just as the banner at the bottom is about to get to Rugby League.................................the adverts come on. You wait for next time and ............................the adverts come on.
    Loyal and true, not a glory hunter.

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    Sky take the blame usually, but at some point we need to look at the game itself and realise that if less people are watching then maybe less people want to watch. The old lines were all about Eddie and Stevo and how we needed younger presenters who didn't look like Northern stereotypes, but we now have Carney who is youngish and the likes of Wells, who presents himself professionally. I don't honestly think Baz and Tez turn anyone away. They may annoy actual fans but I don't think the average punter who decides to give the RL a watch on a Friday night cares that there are two Northern 'biff and bash' artists on the commentary anymore than the average punter cares that RU has the likes of Brian Moore who has a similar (if more eloquant) attitude.

    Fox in Australia have Blocker Roach who does a similar job of being the 'boof-head' ex-forward who they go to for similar comments, but it doesn't detract from the presentation because for every wordy ex-half back there needs to be an ex-forward who has played in the trenches, because both need to be represented ideally. It works in Australia on Fox and Nine because the quality on the field is the star, and the commentators and analysts are merely adding to what would be decent regardless. PL football is the same. If I'm watching a big game I can put up with anyone on commentary because they aren't central to what I'm watching, but give me Bournemouth v Palace and I'll be picking holes in every comment because frankly I'm not bothered about the game and I want the commentators to give me something to add to the occasion.

    Now yes, sometimes the commentators can actively dilute the enjoyment of a big RL game on Sky with their stupidity, but I find that this happens less now because Arthur doesn't see himself as the voice of the sport unlike his predecessor, and the others (whilst at times daft or just plain wrong) aren't larger than life like Stevo. So, at the end of the day, the modern presentation is basically okay with bits of stupidity, but it's not going to drive anyone away IMO. The ref schtick is pointless, but unfortunately everyone has an 'official' onsite to tell us what we can see with our own eyes these days, so we're stuck with it.

    Maybe back in 2000 or whenever, more people watched games because frankly the league was better, the big teams were better, the big games felt bigger and the competition at the top was stiffer. Saints, Bradford and to a lesser degree Wigan and Leeds had teams that could pull punters in, and when the play off format was young and teams still treated the league like it was massive every week we had compelling games and compelling races for top spot that felt big and made viewers want to watch. Nowadays the play-off format is 20-odd years old and everybody has worked out that the weekly rounds are not vital. The best teams aren't as good as they were, and so neutrals and the general sports fan isn't as bothered to watch games than maybe they once were.

    Sky could present the game better, and could hype it better throughout the week, but we could have said that for the entirety of the 25+ years they've been doing this. Less people tune in now not because of Sky but because they are less bothered to watch RL, and whether it's the style of play, the structure of the league, the quality of teams etc, it's not going to change because Sky give it a new lick of paint. We may be happier as fans of the game, but people who aren't will not care either way.

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    As the pre-requisite for a job with Sky Sports is being an ex player of Liverpool Football Club I'm surprised they can't find two that have been to a Rugby League game. I saw Fairclough walking round from the clubhouse to the main stand at Knowsley Rd once or twice.
    On the Back foot looking for the front one.

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    The main problem for me is Bill Arthur. I don’t mind the rest and even think Carney and Wells speak with knowledge and passion about the game. The overall package is good - apart from the commentary of the main game itself - it lacks.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Greengrass View Post
    As the pre-requisite for a job with Sky Sports is being an ex player of Liverpool Football Club I'm surprised they can't find two that have been to a Rugby League game. I saw Fairclough walking round from the clubhouse to the main stand at Knowsley Rd once or twice.
    Along with another club in RL. The next stipulation we'll see is they must be from a minority background so we can look forward to El Hadj Diouf spitting at the camera and Martin Offiah in rasta hat soon.
    Last edited by Angry Dave; 30th June 2020 at 10:32. Reason: Offended myself with my own comments.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Belgian Saint View Post
    The European Golf coverage is far better than the US, they don't know when to shut up and to stop telling you what the golfers are doing wrong. Can't stand Butch Harmon, but when it comes to dross, I think Clarke and co are top of the heap.
    Rich Beem, Butch and his son are the only Americans I really like. Butch has retired now I think. Ironically Faldo is the absolute worst. Can't stand listening to him.

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    Quote Originally Posted by barry View Post
    Rich Beem, Butch and his son are the only Americans I really like. Butch has retired now I think. Ironically Faldo is the absolute worst. Can't stand listening to him.

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    Different opinions. I just get fed up of hearing Butch Harmon talk about his father or "when I coached Tiger" atc.

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    Quote Originally Posted by barry View Post
    Ironically Faldo is the absolute worst. Can't stand listening to him.
    I think CBS in the States use Faldo because it gives their coverage something other than just Americans blathering on, but he doesn't really add much.

    For any NFL fans here, I'm sure you'd agree that the amount of money CBS are giving Tony Romo should include a few stints commentating on the golf, when he isn't playing it anyway. Every sport should be looking for the next Romo to revolutionalise their TV coverage. I'm not sure RL has anyone out there at the moment.

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    Quote Originally Posted by saintgeorge View Post
    The main problem for me is Bill Arthur. I don’t mind the rest and even think Carney and Wells speak with knowledge and passion about the game. The overall package is good - apart from the commentary of the main game itself - it lacks.
    Arthur is dreadful and I think his appointment has proved to an extent that, despite his faults Hemmings was a really good commentator.

    Rugby League has just got lost in the shuffle. In the 2000s when there were 3 or 4 Sport Channels we were Skys main Friday night sporting fix. In the last few years we have started competing with Friday EFL and Premier League games for a significant chunk of the season. From February to May and August to the end of the season we are barely on Main Event.


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