Life without TVN: Time for the road less travelled

I had moved on from the bizarre complications of why and how TVN imploded.

I didn’t tear up when Bruce Clark led the team in the goodbyes in Melbourne and Big Richie Callander likewise in Sydney. It was sad but I knew it was coming, and the palliative nature of the last few months had prepared me well.

It was goodbye, not good riddance, and I wished all those that sailed on the TVN ship well.

But like any clear-thinking racing follower and punter, I wondered with trepidation how the live stream via Racing.com would fare. Was this just an interim measure? How much data it would use? Will it remain free?

I even asked why TVN couldn’t just go with Victorian Racing and make it viable.

But I decided to embrace the change, forget about data, and give the new stream a go. And early thoughts are positive.

The first day was like a pair of comfy old slippers, as Adam Olszanki and David Gately greeted me after overcoming some initial technical issues. It was Yarra Valley Cup Day and it was going to get full focus rather than being bothered or interrupted by what was going on at Wagga.

It was a success, followed by good follow up as the week went on, with the ‘A Team’ of Shane Anderson, Jason Richardson and David Gately making their combined debut on Wednesday at Sandown (William Hill Hillside).

Good work, good analysis, professional and the transition from TVN has been seamless. I sent a tweet to confirm that view that was subsequently favourited by the highly accomplished Shane Anderson.

But since then something has been nagging at the mind. Is this any different from TVN, and was I really looking for more?

I liked TVN by and large. Sometimes I tired of some of the banter, but the tried and tested pattern of form guru providing the analysis and tips, presenter doing trainer and jockey interviews was the formula, and it is the formula that has been adopted by Racing Live with a few tweaks here and there. Most notably, the ability to provide more in-depth interviews between races and the use of the steward’s camera angles.

Has the talent really changed as well I questioned?

Of course the Sydney team are no more, other than by the looks of it Anthony Manton getting a run, but a fair number of the existing TVN talent in Melbourne has come across, even Mick Sharkie popped up in Geelong on Sunday.

The only big additions have been Shane Anderson and Jo McKinnon, and obviously the big loser is Bruce Clark, the appointed captain of TVN, who for obvious reasons could not be the new face of Racing Live.

So some new talent, some more in-depth interviewing, more time to consider what to back, and it’s good, even very good – but perhaps unfairly I want something more.

What that is, I am not sure and who is to say Racing Live is not thinking the same?

Anderson wrote an interesting article last spring calling for innovation in coverage across all platforms. In many respects it was a call to arms, a call for a paradigm shift in how we think about and produce coverage that engages. The article received some lively responses via social media so it clearly hit a nerve, particularly with the traditionalists, but it raised the central question of how to increase engagement and most importantly increase betting turnover.

It is obviously early days and with the time Racing Victoria had on their hands Racing Live been an excellent effort. Sky Racing faced the same issues no doubt. But while Sky Racing has received a lukewarm response, mainly due to camera angle issues, Racing Live seems to be getting the plaudits.

Plaudits well deserved but that will soon dissipate unless it challenges itself with the central question of how to engage through innovation and new ways. This will require creativity, money and nerve.

It is time for the road less travelled.