NEW CEO AT TVNEast Coast Racing

bookielover

TVN have finally appointed a new CEO, who will hopefully bring some stability and a sense of purpose to the station. Bruce Mann was an executive controlling the XYZ network a joint venture between Foxtel and Austar. I have never heard of XYZ network, and in the article that appears in the business section of today's Australian no mention is made of Manns connection to, or even interest in, racing.

He states that his top priority is to do a new deal between TVN and Tabcorp. TVN i.e. RacingVictoria and Racing NSW, have been trying to buy Sky off Tabcorp for years, so it will be interesting to see whether or not Mann is successful this time. Tabcorp knocked back a 400 million plus offer last time an offer was made.

If Mann does know something about racing, then he has a difficult job on his hands mediating between the interests of RV and RNSW, whose bickering had prevented the appointment of a CEO till now.

For us stay at home punters viewing the TVN coverage, the first thing he needs to improve is the terrible mounting yard coverage particularly at mid-week meetings. It's not good enough for Adam Olzanski for example, to take 5 minutes to run through the form for each runner in a 14 horse field as the horses parade, only to leave us watching the rumps of 9 horses as they leave the mounting yard. He's not the only one who thinks that we need to be told about the horses last 4 runs, but he's the worst.

On other occasions, TVN, whose mounting yard coverage is supposed to set them apart from Sky, cross so late, that you barely get to see a horse. That happens time and time again particularly at NSW country meetings. Perhaps he will reign in Caroline Searcys obsession with telling us the horses breeding. 

Don't care Caz. Pavarottis brother couldn't sing a note, and it takes up needless time, because while she is going on about the breeding, the camera man feels obligated to keep showing the horse she is talking about, meaning that once again, we get to see half a dozen rumps instead of how the horse really looks.

One thing that is good about TVN, is that Clarke, Dunn, Sharkey, Shean, and particularly Richard Callender, love him or hate him, are not afraid to air their views unlike the presenters on Sky who have the large sword of Tabcorp hanging over their heads, and are sh!!t frightened to say anything against their employer.

I hope that if a joint venture or a marriage of sorts between TVN and Tabcorp comes to fruition, that TVN's presenters will still be allowed to air their views without fear or favour, and we will finally get a coverage of racing that we who pay their very large salary packages, deserve.

RIO

not sure i can trust your mail on TVN any more BL.... =)) ;)