ITV can't help but advertise the Grand National, which is easier when no horses die. Photo: Shutterstock
Two legacy sporting events are taking place this weekend, with the Augusta Masters and Grand National being widely covered by Sky Sports and ITV respectively. Both have their place in sporting folklore, but the events and broadcasts take different approaches to the challenges of our time.
For many people, racing means the Grand National and nothing more, so the sport had a huge challenge to overcome. decide: the most noticeable event was also the most terrible. ITV on Saturday certainly did its best to give sporting administrators generous and uncritical airtime to explain what changes had been made to the fences, the pitch and why.
ITV is in the peculiar position of being both a broadcaster and a self-proclaimed showcase for racing, a partner of sorts and keener than anyone else to not be associated with any welfare horrors. From the outside looking in, it's hard not to get the impression that the broadcaster, members and management are singing the same anthems in a valiant attempt to convince their natural enemies that there is nothing to worry about. I'm not sure that for anti-betting fanatics or animal rights hardliners, racing has anything to do or Ed Chamberlin and company could say other than just ban everything completely. But God loves the Trier and ITV/Racing gave him everything.
It's certainly a marked change from recent national competitions, when television showed a parade of horses saying variations of «Shut up townies, we know best and the horses love it.» Celebrity ITV pundits such as Sir Anthony McCoy have spoken this year about what a superb update it was; Those who were not personally involved may wonder whether the event will become stripped down, too blurred, and lose its special terrible excitement. Although obviously no television program can argue with safety. Puzzle.
But where the Grand National struggles to compromise, to inform, to update, Masters could not be less concerned about the progress of progress. It persists with the live feed turned off until 2:00 pm local time (until 7:00 pm here), which has gone beyond gory and annoying to truly admirable. The great stewards at Augusta National know we'd like to watch their golf tournament, but they don't care.
Of course, this is not an attempt to keep up with the times. The Masters values and even fetishizes its history: Nicklaus, Woods, azaleas, not allowing a black guy to play in the tournament until 1975. You know, a hot dog still costs five cents. In Augusta you won't even be allowed to bring your cell phone; in Aintree, you might want to give your drug dealer a call. But at least Liverpool's fighting young men were wearing socks this year. The barbarians are at the gate, and their pants are too tight.
Augusta's supreme self-confidence suggests that she will remain as she is for as long as possible, but television coverage is making progress. This is the first year that the BBC hasn't even covered the highlights, and while it's disappointing for some fans, Sky is serving golf fans well. In the afternoon, the British broadcaster has no choice but to broadcast reports from CBS and the Golf Channel, which have a veritable battery of unique American golf broadcasters in their double-breasted polyester blazers and with names like Chad Hooter and Mike. Bison III Jr., everyone looking very pleased with themselves next to the giant potted plants.
Skye does a good job of mixing the old, I mean Sir Nick Faldo and Butch Harmon reflecting on time… well-deserved fashion and new, with excellent analysis from Henny Coyack and plenty of holograms on the competitors' different turns and approaches. I feel like they find the right balance between seedy, albeit beautiful, sweeping shots of the field with gentle, purring commentary, and something more technocratic. An update to a classic. But as race reports show, it's damn hard to get right.
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