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Archive: James Allen

Trouble at the BBC?

22 October 2008 01:43

Categories: News

Despite last month’s reports that appeared to suggest that the BBC’s commentary line-up for next season was set in stone, more recent rumours suggest that all is far from well in the BBC’s plans for next season.

It appeared to be a foregone conclusion that Jonathan Legard and Martin Brundle would team up in the commentary booth. But the fact that no official announcement was ever made was quite odd. Originally, the BBC were going to announce their plans during the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix. The Monza race passed with no word from the BBC.

Since then, it has only been vaguely stated that an announcement will be made after the end of the season. If the BBC don’t have all their loose ends tied up yet, this suggests that their planned dry run at Interlagos will not be happening. As such, the team covering F1 for the BBC in 2009 will almost certainly go into the season “cold”.

Here is what one insider wrote on a message board last week:

So the rumour goes, the BBC’s first choice as lead commentator is not willing to accept the financial package they are offering, and won’t sign a contract without more money being offered.

However the BBC also has an issue with its second-choice commentator: Another of the talent they have already signed has a long-running dispute with second-choice commentator and refuses to work with him. Indeed he has it written into his contract that he won’t work with him.

Then there’s the matter of the BBC telling all of the other applicants that they weren’t “what the BBC is looking for”.

So the first choice refuses to sign a contract, the second choice is contractually unable to do the job and everyone else has been told to look for a job elsewhere! Quite a pickle.

The identities of choices numbers one and two are not known, but educated guesses have Jonathan Legard as the BBC’s first choice. Legard looked set to take the job, but was known to be reluctant. The former Radio 5 Live F1 commentator decided a number of years ago that the worldwide travel involved in covering the sport was no longer for him and opted to become a British-based football reporter instead. As such, it is easy to see why Legard might be in two minds about returning to F1 commentating.

Furthermore, it is said that there is some friction over the amount he has been offered in the role. Rumours suggest that Jonathan Legard has been offered £76,000 for a season. This is compared to Martin Brundle’s rumoured £1 million pay packet. Although that is a lot of money, it is said that this is less than what Brundle currently gets paid by ITV. Brundle is also in a stronger negotiating position because he is one of the most respected commentators in the business and has won several awards.

The BBC want to pay less for the main commentator, who is being offered a uniquely career-enhancing opportunity, whoever ends up getting the gig. However, it is easy to see why someone would be peeved at being paid just 7.6% of what his ostensibly junior partner earns.

The Daily Mail also suggests that Legard is wary of taking on the role because of “the inevitable comparisons with Murray [Walker].” This is understandable given the barrage of criticism that James Allen has had to face over the years.

Although it’s been easy to put the pieces together over the spanner in the works considering the BBC’s first choice, the issue surrounding the BBC’s second choice remains much more of a mystery. Most are guessing that the second choice is David Croft, current Radio 5 Live commentator. Whoever it is, what this person may have done to upset someone so much that they have had it written in their contract that they won’t work with him is a mystery.

During his commentary for a practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix, David Croft dropped a pretty heavy hint that he would remain on Radio 5 Live, saying that he didn’t mind if people switched to television to watch Formula 1, just as long as they pressed the red button. The red button service would almost certainly include the option to listen to Radio 5 Live commentary.

At least plans for red button services for Formula 1 appear to be going more swimmingly. Another insider on the same message board has uploaded a mockup of the BBC’s interactive F1 coverage. It suggests that the BBC will carry at least the FOM world feed, a dedicated on-board channel, live timing and a few other bits and bobs.

As for the commentators, it looks as though the BBC is in a right pickle. The BBC wants to keep an eye on the pennies and its budget for F1 is lower than ITV’s. They could increase their offer to Jonathan Legard, though the coffers obviously don’t have an unlimited supply of money. Given the bad feelings and politics that have already emerged, the BBC commentary booth could well be a frosty place next season, and that is not good for anyone concerned.

Let’s just hope the BBC decide to turn to Ben Edwards, who is easily the most desirable candidate if Legard and Croft are unable to take up the role.

To keep up with the rumours surrounding the BBC’s coverage next season, I highly recommend keeping an eye on this thread over at Digital Spy.

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Why we're glad F1 is going back to the BBC

8 October 2008 17:01

Categories: Opinion

7 comments

BBC 2009 F1 commentary team confirmed

29 September 2008 02:11

Categories: News, Opinion

This morning Pitpass has a scoop that reveals details of the BBC’s team that will be covering Formula 1 next season.

The names mentioned are Martin Brundle (the only person to move from ITV), David Coulthard, Jonathan Legard, Lee McKenzie and Jake Humphrey. Some of the names are not connected to any roles, but it seems pretty clear who will be doing what.

Anchor: Jake Humphrey

Jake Humphrey’s name entered the frame in the rumour mill a few weeks ago, and the more you think about it the more he makes sense. He may not have any experience in F1 broadcasting, and frankly we don’t know if he actually likes F1. However, he is clearly a rising star and, moreover, a thoroughly competent presenter with a background in a diverse variety of sports.

Despite a background in children’s television, Jake Humphrey started climbing the BBC Sport ladder when he presented Sportsround, a children’s sports news programme. Since then he has become the youngest person ever to present Football Focus and Match of the Day. He also attracted widespread acclaim when he presented the BBC’s coverage of the NFL Superbowl earlier this year.

Pundit: David Coulthard

This has been widely expected for weeks, months, perhaps even years. As a highly experienced British Formula 1 driver, DC was always likely to start a career in broadcasting once he retired from driving.

Coulthard will not just bring his driving expertise to the role — he is also a very entertaining speaker and is not afraid to speak colourfully. Some have noted that the BBC may want to rein in DC because he is not the most politically correct person in the world. He notably exclaimed live on British breakfast television earlier this year that he wanted to kick “seven colours of shit out of the little bastard”, referring to Felipe Massa. I doubt DC will launch into such a tirade in the relaxed atmosphere of a studio in London, but his colourful style will entertain viewers.

Main commentator: Jonathan Legard

Perhaps at the different end of the scale to David Coulthard, Jonathan Legard is a conservative choice for the BBC to make for the role of main commentator. He is a safe pair of hands. Perhaps not the most entertaining of speakers. He is certainly not a Murray Walker. But nor does he have James Allen’s cringeworthy faux-excitement. Legard is a calm, analytical commentator.

A BBC man through and through, Legard used to commentate on Radio 5 Live’s F1 coverage before leaving to become the station’s football correspondent. I had read that Legard was reluctant to take on the role, having ruled himself out earlier. But this is an important one for the BBC to get right given the sticks and stones that have gone ITV’s way as a result of James Allen over the years.

Colour commentator: Martin Brundle

Despite the BBC wanting to put their own mark on F1 coverage next season (as is evident from the choices above), Brundle has become almost as indispensable as Murray Walker was when coverage moved from the BBC to ITV back in 1997. It was feared that Martin Brundle would not be a part of the BBC’s team, but he is simply too good for the BBC to ignore.

It would, in fact, have been a bit of a farce if they decided not to hire Martin Brundle. He has won an armful of awards for his commentary while at ITV. His ability to come up with witty, pithy quips on the spot has won him legions of fans. That’s not to say that Brundle is perfect, and mistakes seem to be creeping into his commentary more and more as time goes on. But this is clearly the right choice for the BBC to make.

Pitlane reporter: Lee McKenzie

Lee McKenzie is the daughter of F1 journalist Bob McKenzie and has previous experience presenting motor sport highlights on ITV. More recently she has presented Sky’s A1GP coverage.

I was just recently wondering whatever happened to Lee McKenzie (I don’t have Sky) so it was a pleasant surprise to see her name in the Pitpass report. I have no idea what she is like as a pitlane reporter, but she has been presenting motorsport coverage for some years now so this should work out fine.

Anyone else?

It would be interesting if this is the entire BBC team. ITV have had two pitlane reporters ever since they got F1 coverage, with one person chasing drivers for interviews while the other hunts out stories from the garages. If the BBC have only one pitlane reporter, this will be a big drawback of the coverage.

According to the Pitpass report, the BBC will be spending less on their F1 coverage than ITV. It seems highly likely that the coverage will be anchored from a London studio, although surely the commentary team in addition to the pitlane reporters at least will travel to the races. It would be quite strange, though, as MotoGP is always presented from the paddock just like ITV’s F1 coverage.

However, I personally wouldn’t mind the coverage being presented from London. I don’t see the big advantage of having Steve Rider and Mark Blundell standing in noisy garages with engines roaring so that you can barely hear them speak. Keeping the coverage in London is a sensible scheme that will save license payers’ money.

The names now out of the picture

The omission of Holly Samos is interesting, as I had earlier read that she was already privately confirmed as the pitlane reporter. Samos is okay, but she has made a few bad mistakes during her Radio 5 Live coverage this season, completely ruining my understanding of the race on at least one occasion.

As for the main commentator, if Jonathan Legard had decided to rule himself out, David Croft would probably have been in line to take the job. I am slightly relieved that he hasn’t got the job. While I think he is a competent commentator, he does make mistakes and he has a bit of a James Allen thing going on.

My preferred choice for the role would have been Ben Edwards. However, I have heard that it is a precondition of being part of the BBC’s F1 coverage that presenters will not work for any other broadcaster. Given that Ben Edwards has his fingers in many pies, this will have ruled him out.

What is really interesting is that no-one from the current BBC Radio 5 Live team has made the jump to the corporation’s television coverage. This is not entirely unexpected. When it was originally announced back in March that the BBC had acquired the rights to broadcast F1 on television, I suggested that the BBC might keep the current team on Radio 5 Live.

Even this is not confirmed however, as the contract to produce Radio 5 Live’s F1 coverage, currently held by USP Content, is up for renewal for 2009. It could be a case of so near yet so far for the 5 Live team. Both Holly Samos and David Croft were strongly linked to roles on BBC television, yet according to Pitpass neither has got the nod. Might they even be absent from next year’s radio coverage as well?

Update: Here is more opinion on the news from Keith at F1 Fanatic.

11 comments

From the vaults: Old F1 magazines

26 September 2008 00:30

Categories: History

Okay, so it’s not from the vaults, it’s from my attic.

I just happened to mention in passing to “me” from Sidepodcast on Identica the short-lived F1 magazine GPX. He asked me to upload it so that he could see what it was like, so I took photos of the two issues of GPX I own and uploaded them to Sidepodcast’s Dropio. I hope the people at Haymarket don’t mind too much. But this is over ten years old and it obviously didn’t make them much money at the time, so…

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

If you’re interested, Issue #3 starts here, and you need to click the left arrow to go through the magazine. Issue #4 starts here.

Issue #4 was the final issue of GPX. Obviously Haymarket had high hopes for it, and I even remember seeing posters in the window of a WH Smith advertising it. The magazine totally tanked though.

Originally designed to be a “laddish” magazine, issue #4 shows some signs of desperation with features designed to appeal more to females, including the “Top 20 sexy F1 drivers of all time” and a “hunky” poster of Mika Salo. Stuart C from F1 Racing has a bit more on GPX over at Sidepodcast here and here.

In retrospect, GPX wasn’t a quality magazine. It did have some good gags in it though. I like ‘Brainstorming with the Prost team‘ and the joke about spelling out ‘Schumacher’ with beer cans made me chuckle at the time.

The magazine as a whole has slight shades of The Red Bulletin and Sniff Petrol. In fact, GPX might actually have had a chance if it was as consistently funny as Sniff Petrol…

While I was rummaging for those issues of GPX, I found some other interesting old F1 magazines and various other bits and pieces. Most of these almost certainly came free with F1 Racing. Click below to see what I found.

Click for more »

8 comments

How I watch Formula 1

5 August 2008 22:53

Categories: Admin

Last week Ollie at BlogF1 wrote about the set-up he uses at home to watch Formula 1. He threw the question back to his readers: how do you watch F1? Here is my answer.

If you click through to the photo’s Flickr page you will see the notes I have written to explain everything. But I will describe my set-up here as well.

As you can see, I squeeze everything on the one screen — even the ITV television broadcast! It’s a pretty big monitor (the same as Ollie’s, if I’m not mistaken), so it can handle it. It is a bit of a squeeze, but it’s the most convenient way for me to do it as there is not a television in the line of sight of where I sit at the computer.

Going clockwise from top-left, we begin with the ITV live video feed. I only fire this up after the chequered flag because during the race it essentially shows the ITV1 London feed — adverts and all. After the race though, it switches to the FOM World Feed. After the race, the world feed contains a nice montage of replays from during the race as well as the press conference, which ITV do not always show during their television broadcast.

While I’m watching the FOM feed, I pause the television (which I watch via Windows Media Centre). When the FOM programme finishes, I start watching ITV again to watch all of the post-race analysis and interviews.

Beneath the television I have FOM’s own live timing system. As far as I’m concerned, this is an indispensable tool if you want to know what’s going on all the way through the grid. I notice that it is a ubiquitous presence among the other photographs / screenshots I have seen.

Finally, we have the F1Fanatic liveblog in the bottom left. Lots of top chitty-chat goes on in there and it’s sometimes a great way to get advance warning of some news as people from around the world report what their commentators have told them. Some eagle-eyed viewers also spot stuff that I would otherwise miss.

The green mug contains my coffee. This sits on a coaster with a photograph of David Coulthard in action in his MP4-13. The clear mug contains an emergency supply of apple juice in case I get thirsty during the race. Peering behind this is a 1:43 scale diecast model of Damon Hill’s Jordan 198.

Not in the photograph, a digital radio sits to my left on another desk. I use this to listen to the Radio 5 Live / Sports Extra commentary. This way I avoid James Allen’s plonkery. One problem with this, though, is that the radio is a couple of seconds ahead of the television. This means that I hear the action before I see it, but that is just a small worry.

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