Commentary pets

[dans79]

but the things you learn from Sky Sport F1 (if you are a casual watcher) is enormous because of the pundits they have there

A. I'm not a casual viewer
B. I find them far less informative than the American crew that got the axe

I agree!

[Mr Alcatraz]

but the things you learn from Sky Sport F1 (if you are a casual watcher) is enormous because of the pundits they have there

A. I'm not a casual viewer
B. I find them far less informative than the American crew that got the axe

I agree!

Word dawgz!

[Radley]

I truly can't stand Crofty. Watch FP 1 & 2 and you will see he's bored by the cars and goes on and on about pajamas or pancakes or cricket and thinks he's so clever.

I watch Formula 1 because it's the highest technological form of racing. I really respect it when a team gets it right and dominates. Lotus, Williams, McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and Mercedes all rose to the top and it's a remarkable achievement to witness. Meanwhile David Croft is bored and tries to make up little games to play. Asking him to do 3 hours on Friday is more than he can handle.

I don't want cute.

[Capharol]

I truly can't stand Crofty. Watch FP 1 & 2 and you will see he's bored by the cars and goes on and on about pajamas or pancakes or cricket and thinks he's so clever.

I watch Formula 1 because it's the highest technological form of racing. I really respect it when a team gets it right and dominates. Lotus, Williams, McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and Mercedes all rose to the top and it's a remarkable achievement to witness. Meanwhile David Croft is bored and tries to make up little games to play. Asking him to do 3 hours on Friday is more than he can handle.

I don't want cute.

then you try to fill 3 hours on a friday without boring the viewers..... he tries to losen up things and hold in thoughts Crofty has to keep all viewers satisfied and try to find comparisons that even a unregular viewer understand what is meant (which he did by comparing the reversed grid with a new rule that was introduced in cricket)

so again i like to see you fill 3 hours (on a friday) and keep the viewers watching

[strad]

I would at least talk to the viewer and about what's going on at the track. Not some inside joke between me and DiResta or what I had for breakfast.
Croft actually thought the brace for mounting the pitot rake was an advancement the team was trying out and Kravitz couldn't explain what the Heave Spring was or how it worked.
Tired of hearing how SKY is better cause they're at the track and not locked away in a booth when that is exactly how Croft works. Often they can't even tell you where something is happening on the track because all he has is monitors where he is locked in his booth.
Evidently SKY hasn't discovered the telestrator and how to operate a sound mix board.
I was initially so happy we were going to get the much vaulted British coverage only to be massively disappointed. The ONLY thing better is the lack of commercial breaks. IMO

[Capharol]

I would at least talk to the viewer and about what's going on at the track. Not some inside joke between me and DiResta or what I had for breakfast.
Croft actually thought the brace for mounting the pitot rake was an advancement the team was trying out and Kravitz couldn't explain what the Heave Spring was or how it worked.
Tired of hearing how SKY is better cause they're at the track and not locked away in a booth when that is exactly how Croft works. Often they can't even tell you where something is happening on the track because all he has is monitors where he is locked in his booth.
Evidently SKY hasn't discovered the telestrator and how to operate a sound mix board.
I was initially so happy we were going to get the much vaulted British coverage only to be massively disappointed. The ONLY thing better is the lack of commercial breaks. IMO

then lets skype and you talk me through 3 hours of Friday pratice and see how long you can keep me interested ..... deal?
you would lose this because what you say "talk to the viewers" is what i can see myself anyway, do i know all of the technicall stuff in F1.... hell no, and i don't want to because i don't wanna know it all because if you go to technical towards viewers, they shut off the TV because they aren't interested in this stuff.

and Sky wants to keep they're viewers and thats 1 reason why they keep repeating most of the stuff at each race or during a race because not all viewers are as well informed as you and i are.
this "joking around" with other commentators is just a way not letting the viewers get bored.
and for viewers like us that are running around in a (technical)F1-Forum ofc it's boring but if only viewers like us would look at F1 they soon can close many tracks and Sky Sport F1 can pack his bags and go home even before a race has started

and it was never a secret that Crofty and Ted has not so much knowledge of F1 as a ex-driver, these two are clearly just commentators with a passion for F1

[El Scorchio]

Interesting someone should mention cricket.

The practice commentary has vibes of Test Match Special about it, which is probably the most lauded sports coverage in the country. They have a habit of talking a lot about 'not' cricket while the game is going on, but it's brilliant. That's clearly what they are trying to aim for a bit. As Capharol says, it's very difficult to keep it really focused when there's nothing happening on track, and even when there is, it's 'only' practice, so it's difficult to get too enthused.

Again, they are appealing to a casual viewer in the hopes of attracting them. If they spend the whole time balls deep in technical info, it might delight or fascinate the minority of people, like some of us on here, but most people just don't care about that level of detail, will find it uninteresting and turn off. For those of us that need that, there are plenty of resources there to fulfill that.

It's completely understandable that they don't go down this route. You can't please all the people, but you have to try and please either the majority, or those you hope to capture. They know F1 nuts will watch regardless, even if they moan about it. They NEED non F1 nuts to start/keep watching. It HAS to be accessible, even if some see it as being dumbed down.

[strad]

People can make al the excuses they want. The fact remains we tune in for F1 related discussion and not some inside joke that no one gets but them because it relates to something that happened on the plane or at breakfast.
Facts, figures and inside information is what they are getting paid to deliver and what we want.

[El Scorchio]

Who’s making excuses? Just telling it the way it is. You produce a hardcore in depth nuts and bolts show with no emphasis on entertainment, and you get a very small specialised audience as a result, and the sport starts to die as everyone else switches off.

The majority of people do not care about new winglets or aero tweaks or engine evolutions. They care about the drivers and the razzmatazz. Don’t you think if the powers that be were not happy with the presentation they’d tell the commentators to cut it out or change tone? They are delivering what they aim to.

I know for a fact the Sky producers tell Ted to minimise and simplify the technical stuff, for example.

[strad]

you produce a hardcore in depth nuts and bolts show with no emphasis on entertainment, and you get a very small specialised audience as a result, and the sport starts to die as everyone else switches off.

A. It doesn't all have to be hardcore but it does need to be F1 centered with the emphasis on F1.
B. Talk about what they eat/like for breakfast and if they had to wait too long for their tea is alienating to F1 enthusiasts who their audience is supposed to be..
.

The majority of people do not care about new winglets or aero tweaks or engine evolutions. They care about the drivers and the razzmatazz.

That is exactly what most viewers want and certainly the die hard F1 enthusiast does NOT want what you call razzmatazz which just amount to inane prattle.
.

Don’t you think if the powers that be were not happy with the presentation they’d tell the commentators to cut it out or change tone? They are delivering what they aim to.

.
Then in this viewers opinion the powers that be are out of touch with their market which is certainly not uncommon it the TV world.
The market stays with them because for the most part they have no choice.
Don't you think that many would vote with their feet if they did have a choice? I sure would and many that I speak with feel the same way.
I strongly feel the only thing better with this broadcast choice is the lack of commercial ad breaks.

[El Scorchio]

You’re missing the point. They are not catering for die hard enthusiasts. They know they have us already, regardless of what our opinion is. You’ll slag it off but you’ll still tune in regardless. They are trying to expand their reach by making it accessible to more people, which is where the ‘inane prattle’ comes in, because that’s what the casual viewer wants and it’s what draws them in. If they turn on to a 20 minute lecture on barge boards, they are turning it right off again because they are either bored by it or don’t understand it.

The readers of this board are not ‘most viewers’. You’re coming at it from your specific point of view as someone who craves very in depth detail rather than thinking about the masses or the average Joe.

[Radley]

I appreciate all of the viewpoints expressed.

Some of us would like Sky/ Mr. Croft to raise their game. I find David Croft's level of sophiscation to be wanting.

I believe there are no casual viewers for the Practice sessions unless it's on a tv in a public waiting room? If one is DVR'ing FP1 they are a hardcore fan. For the USA, most of Formula 1 is on at 4am. I also think that what attracts a viewer to Formula 1 is the technology. Otherwise, one watches NASCAR or Indy.

My favorite Free Practice sessions happen a few years ago when the USA broadcaster just streamed them live on the internet with no announcers, it was just the world feed. I found it pretty exciting. The audio was excellent! Just the sound of the cars all the time.

[marmer]

for me i prefer rambings of the sky team/bbc radio 5 live team during practice they still get enough of the on track action accross whilst keeping it light and entertaining. watching a car set perfectly average lap times to a delta isn't that interesting after you have watched a few practice sessions

[nzjrs]

For any German / English speakers here, I don't think anyone beats ORF. I couldn't even think of something to criticize them about. Miles better than RTL and Sky

[Big Tea]

People can make al the excuses they want. The fact remains we tune in for F1 related discussion and not some inside joke that no one gets but them because it relates to something that happened on the plane or at breakfast.
Facts, figures and inside information is what they are getting paid to deliver and what we want.

I don't know. Have you watched much TV lately? (I have not, I hate it) it is all 'personal stuff'
They stick a handful of people in a house or on an island, desert or car and the whole program is a catfight.

I really do believe if they aired the chitchat in the plane or the motorhome there would be a bigger following, sad as it may be.

EDit PS, the best chitchat for me comes from Chandhok, and Ted is ok but casual.